This timely, tough-minded book shows how American public schools can be saved by instituting high standards for academic achievement. Standards for Our Schools explains not just what the standards movement is about and why it is important, but also what it will take to bring every student up to high standards, no matter where that student starts. The authors show how a single-minded focus on achievement will change everything?from the kinds of curriculum materials we use and the design of elementary and middle schools to the abandonment of the comprehensive high school and the institution of a diploma based on meeting standards, rather than on attendance. At the heart of this revolution are the performance standards themselves, which provide clear expectations for student achievement by showing examples of standard-setting student work. Tucker and Codding focus on empowering both students and adults?by giving students the gift of high expectations and by giving school professionals the information, skills, authority and resources needed to do the job. They advocate building a standards-based instructional system, creating a results-oriented culture devoted to continuous improvement, and making the institution and the people in it accountable for reaching the goals set by the standards. This book lays out a step-by-step plan that will get struggling students to high standards as well as improve the performance of high achievers. An extremely practical book, it gives everyone involved in the education of our students the tools they need to do the job. Standards for Our Schools will be the bible of standards-based education and the foundation on which educators, parents, and policymakers can build the educational system of the future.

How the Common Core standardizes our kids’ education—and how it threatens our democracy. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is one of the most controversial pieces of education policy to emerge in decades. Detailing what and when K–12 students should be taught, it has led to expensive reforms and displaced other valuable ways to educate children. In this nuanced and provocative book, Nicholas Tampio argues that, though national standards can raise the education bar for some students, the democratic costs outweigh the benefits. To make his case, Tampio describes the history, philosophy, content, and controversy surrounding the Common Core standards for English language arts and math. He also explains and critiques the Next Generation Science Standards, the Advanced Placement US History curriculum framework, and the National Sexuality Education Standards. Though each set of standards has admirable elements, Tampio asserts that democracies should disperse education authority rather than entrust one political or pedagogical faction to decide the country’s entire philosophy of education. Ultimately, this lively and accessible book presents a compelling case that the greater threat to democratic education comes from centralized government control rather than from local education authorities.

Somewhere. . . there is a place of sanity where education is intense and substantive. . . . It's in that place that Deborah Meier has been working all these years. Her voice conveys a life of struggle in the front lines-victories and losses, hopes and disappointments. . . . It's a voice our nation needs to hear. --Jonathan Kozol, from the Foreword Acclaimed educator Deborah Meier offers a fresh take on standardized tests. While others have criticized standards and what they measure, Meier rejects the very idea of a centralized authority that dictates how and what teachers teach. Standardization, she argues, prevents citizens-including teachers-from emerging as thoughtful, responsible adults, seriously engaged with shaping their own schools, classrooms, and communities. As a result, young people can't learn from them how to be thoughtful, responsible adults and good citizens, the primary goal of public education in a democracy. The New Democracy Forum is a series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns. "A civic treasure. . . . A truly good idea, carried out with intelligence and panache." --Robert Pinsky

This is the remarkable story of the creation of a new kind of high school that truly aspires to educate all students to high standards. Believing that a deeply personalized culture can prevent the senseless violence that has invaded many public schools, educators at Souhegan High School in Amherst, New Hampshire set out to create a safe, caring, and academically rigorous school. In this volume, Silva (a teacher) and Mackin (a principal) chronicle their experiences as they worked through the many challenges that ultimately resulted in this extraordinarily successful school. Featuring their honest reflections and the voices of other participants, this book: -- Portrays a real public high school (not a small alternative school) that is successfully implementing most of the reform practices recommended by national reform models. -- Demonstrates how schools can strike a balance between the need for stricter safety measures and the social and emotional needs of each student, thus avoiding violent outbursts in schools. -- Details the school's structure, curriculum, professional culture, and systems of accountability for all students in a heterogeneous, inclusionary setting. -- Describes the use of teaming, advisory groups, exhibitions, and senior projects. -- Provides a working model of the "Breaking Ranks" recommendations, including the importance of "personalization" and democracy in education.

Essential reading for school leaders! With the Common Core State Standards adopted by the vast majority of U.S. states, educators face the challenge of translating the standards into successful, positive change within schools. Written for school leaders, this practical guide offers a blueprint for implementing and exceeding the new standards using very targeted professional development. Readers will find realistic strategies supported by examples from a diverse range of schools. Topics include Empowering teachers and staff as partners in planning for and implementing the new standards Adapting existing curriculum to meet goals for mathematics and language arts at each grade level Designing assessments that measure mastery of the standards Ensuring that the standards benefit learning for all students, including multicultural learners Lead your school or district in fulfilling the promise of the Common Core State Standards and preparing students for a competitive global economy. "This book looks at the implementation of CCSS within the context of all of the components that face public schools, and, in doing so, puts the CCSS in a proper perspective. This is a book that could actually help make a difference in the improvement of instruction in the public schools." —Martin J. Hudacs, Superintendent Solanco School District, Quarryville, PA "Making the Common Core Standards Work provides a detailed approach to systems thinking and how to manage a real-life paradigm shift." —William Richard Hall, Jr., Principal R. C. Longan Elementary School, Henrico, VA

Arguing against the tougher standards rhetoric that marks the current education debate, the author of No Contest and Punished by Rewards writes that such tactics squeeze the pleasure out of learning. Reprint.

In this extensively revised and expanded second edition, we find updated descriptions of progressive teaching in six subject areas: reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts.