Standards Literacy
Educators are often asked to unpack or unwrap standards to determine the scaffolded content and skills or competencies necessary for their students in be successful learners. Unfortunately, the elephant in the room is that teachers are often not provided insights into how to read standards based on structure and function.
To improve literacy when reading, interpreting, and analyzing standards, teachers and administrators need to be aware of the textual and symbol nuances that are important to demystify standards’ intent. Being standards literate aids in making more informed decisions when developing student learning and selecting or creating assessment and supportive instructional practices.
In a systemic standards literacy context, teachers need to meet, in person or virtually, to discuss, deliberate, and decide what standards-based student learning should look like and sound like as students move toward and reach independence.
It is important for teachers to be involved in standards literacy collaborations to make informed decisions regarding curriculum design, instruction, and assessment. If such decisions are made in isolation (e.g., from a single grade level or course perspective), it can cause standards misalignment rather than the desired standards alignment.
Janet’s years of experience in aiding schools, districts, and higher education programs in establishing standards literacy have empowered educators to confidently determine explicit—and, most importantly, implicit—learning expectations across and within grade levels and courses.
