Improving Standards-Based Learning: A Process Guide for Educational Leaders

"This is the best nuts-and-bolts guide for improving teaching and learning in our schools. Carr and Harris have been successful in every school district they have consulted in. Now we have access to their insight and experience in a book that is perfectly laid out with examples and worksheets to guide successful instructional improvement. If you′re serious about instructional leadership, this is the one book you need on your desk."
―Kenneth W. Eastwood, Superintendent
Middletown City School District, NY

Use this tool kit to develop a high-quality curriculum that impacts student learning!

Although schools and districts across the country have made notable strides in their instructional programs, educators continue to struggle with developing curriculum that addresses each learner′s needs and strengths, is aligned to instruction and assessment, supports standards-based learning, and results in increased student learning. In this book, the authors provide a curriculum and improvement process that not only shows school leaders how to design a strong, coherent curriculum but also leads the reader through the critical processes of implementing and then evaluating that curriculum for instructional improvement.

This resource is packed with ready-to-use tools that can be tailored to meet site-specific needs and includes examples from schools and districts, proven strategies, guidelines and worksheets, graphics and vignettes that illustrate key points, and questions that promote reflection. The book addresses key issues, including

• How is curriculum put together?
• Who should be involved and what should be included?
• How should we go about it and how long will it take?
• What should be considered during implementation?
• How is curriculum evaluated?

Whether you are experienced or just getting started, Improving Standards-Based Learning provides an accessible framework with numerous tools for developing a curriculum that can generate substantive improvement in teaching and learning.

Judy F. Carr teaches half-time in the Educational Leadership Program at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. She is also codirector of the Center for Curriculum Renewal, a consultant, facilitator, professional development specialist, workshop presenter, and program evaluator with educators and policy makers in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean. She is coauthor or coeditor of the following books: A Pig Don’t Get Fatter the More You Weigh It: Balancing Classroom Assessment; Creating Dynamic Schools Through Mentoring, Coaching, and Collaboration; Succeeding with Standards: Linking Curriculum, Assessment, and Action Planning; How to Use Standards in the Classroom; Integrated Studies in the Middle Grades: Dancing Through Walls; and Living and Learning in the Middle Grades: The Dance Continues: A Festschrift for Chris Stevenson.

Carr has expertise in K-12 curriculum, instruction, and assessment; standards-based education reform; design of professional development materials and processes; systems change implementation with leadership teams in school districts and state agencies; and middle grades education. She has been a middle school teacher and a K-12 curriculum director. She was the recipient of the second annual Vermont ASCD Curriculum Leadership Award.