The websites dedicated to educational standards in New Jersey, California and British Columbia are each divided into manageable areas separated by subject area and, where applicable, specialty. The language used in each are specific to task but generalized enough to allow for interpretation. Each has PDF’s available for review and printing and also contact information for those who may be able to answer questions about the standards.

This is a first person account of my experiences in both California and New York in regards to the knowledge of standards within the district. While both states are very different, they both have issues in regards to adapting the standards to the needs of the teachers.

In order to change the instructional practices to reflect a standards-based curriculum we need to continue to develop the curriculum using the standards as a guide to align the standards with observational, written and oral assessments using clear and reflective reports. The standards, the curriculum, and the assessment tools need to align to achieve best educational practices. Making the standards the backbone to developing curriculum gives me the flexibility as a teacher to create lessons and units appropriate for students and still keep the provincial standards as the educational goals.

This essay looks at the concept that all children in the USA need to be looked at as English Language Learners, not just those that are born to parents who are acquiring the English language as a second language. A recent published report from the NAEP that highlights reading scores comparing white and black eighth grade students from the years 1972 to 2007 identify that there is still a gap and neither group are really meeting National Standards!