Our Work: Standards and Assessment
Standards
Standards and benchmarks too often
are general statements that provide
teachers with little guidance for
planning instruction. To be confident
that your standards define what students should know and be able to do,
turn to McREL. For two decades, McREL has been setting the standard for
standards-based education. Today, we lead the market in working with schools,
districts, states, and other education agencies to review, improve, and
implement standards.
Standards review & analysis
Our analysts review or revise standards for all subject areas and levels,
from pre-kindergarten through college entry. We can help you ensure that
standards are clear, specific, and represent best research, so that curriculum,
instruction, and assessment can be organized around them.
Standards development
Although standards provide the basis for learning targets, many standards
documents are written in ways that make it difficult for teachers to
know exactly what to teach. McREL provides straightforward descriptions
of the knowledge and skills that are embedded in each benchmark and standard.
We can help schools and districts “unpack” these embedded
expectations by identifying the knowledge and skills students need to
achieve the standards and developing performance expectations to assess
whether students have mastered the standards.
Standards-based instructional
materials & guidance
Simply setting standards is no guarantee that teachers can effectively
implement them in the classrooms. That’s why we work with states
and districts to evaluate publishers’ instructional materials for
quality and alignment to their standards. We also develop instructional
materials,
including sample activities, lesson plans, and classroom assessment items
that help teachers create classrooms that are truly standards-based.
Standards & assessment
alignment
services
McREL’s expertise in standards extends to large-scale assessments.
Our standards and assessment experts provide states and other organizations
with objective guidance on their assessment programs, helping them determine
the extent to which their systems are aligned with standards. We can help
you navigate complex psychometric issues and identify the best, most cost-effective
solutions for your state or district.