Standards-based Planning 
Using the CAI Model

 Introduction              Modules and Objectives            Diagnostic          Navigating Beacon Modules

What’s the big deal about educational standards?  The former assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch, best explains the necessity of standards in her book, NATIONAL STANDARDS IN AMERICAN EDUCATION, (Brookings Institute, July, 1996, 8-9).

·         Americans clamor for standards in nearly every part of their lives.  They expect strict standards to govern construction of buildings, bridges, highways, and tunnels; shoddy work would put lives at risk.  They expect explicit standards in the field of telecommunications; imagine how difficult life would be if every city, state, and nation had incompatible telephone system.  They expect stringent standards to protect their drinking water, the food they eat, and the air they breathe… Even the most ordinary transactions of daily life reflect the omnipresence of standards. (pp8-9)

When we consider  the challenge of educating students for the workplace in the twenty-first century, the need for education reform is evident.  In the past, curriculum often meant whatever teachers preferred to teach or was was based on curriculum guides or scope-and sequence charts that varied greatly from district to district and state to state. As educators evaluated the effectiveness of these conventional curriculum guides, it became clear that they lacked consistency. Often these guides were simply a list of skills that did not address student performance or higher level thinking skills and gave little guidance for instruction or assessment. Since there were no educational standards that outlined what students should know, understand, and be able to do, developing standards at the national, state and local level became the focus of education reform.

The purpose of standards-based curriculum is to target and define expectations for student learning and assessment.  Achievement levels can be established so accountability can take place. Unlike curriculum goals of the past, standards-based curriculum clearly articulates responsibility for teaching and assessing student and assures that learning has occurred. Educators are presented with the challenge of effectively incorporating state standards into the instructional strategies, and designing comprehensive assessments.

Are you feeling frustrated with implementing state standards? Then Beacon's Standards-based Planning Modules are exactly what you need to revitalize, reenergize or resuscitate your lesson plans! These interactive training modules guide you through a lesson planning process which ensures that lesson plans effectively instruct and assess selected state standards.  

Understand the process of standards-based planning and the advantages of using that process
Understand that aligning curriculum, assessment and instruction is the key to standards-based planning

Curriculum
Know that curriculum is based on the state standards 
Identify from state standards what students should know, understand, or be able to do

Assessment
Comprehend there are differences among assessment methods, types, and tools
Recognize and verify validity within standards-based assessment and criteria
Determine the importance of specific assessment criteria that are tightly aligned to the standards

Instruction
Know that instruction should include appropriate meaningful activities that engage students in the learning process 
Analyze relevant instruction that clearly supports achievement of selected standards/benchmarks

Application
Evaluate alignment of the curriculum, assessment, and instruction within a lesson plan
Apply the standards-based planning process to design lesson plans for use in the classroom

Learning online is a different than the classroom since you work at your own pace, using self assessments as you progress through each learning module. It is important to begin with a BEAM module that is compatible with your present level of knowledge.  We encourage you to take the pre-test to assess your current proficiency level in standards-based planning. The score will assist in directing you to an appropriate module.

Navigating Beacon Modules

This Icon, found at the top of each page is a direct link to the all of the Beacon Learning Center's online training modules.

©Copyright 2001 Beacon Learning Center