Science Academic Content Standards and Standards-Based Education

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Science Academic Content Standards and
Standards-Based Education
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Amended Substitute Senate Bill 1

• Calls for the State Board of Education to
• Adopt clear academic content standards for
  science by 2002
• Develop assessments for grades 3-10 based on
  standards and
• Develop model curricula aligned to the standards
  for preK-12.

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Standards-Based Education

• Has a fixed point of reference
• Has a system for communicating expectations
• Guides instruction at the classroom level
• Focuses instruction on student learning
• Delineates what matters

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What is in the Science Standards document?

• Adoption information
• Introduction
• Standards
• Benchmarks and Indicators sorted by standard
• Benchmarks and Indicators sorted by grade level
• Alignment of Benchmarks and Indicators
• Instruction and commentary
• Glossary of Terms
• Resources

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Standards Framework
Overarching goals and themes

What all students should know and be able to do
What all students should know and be able to
do at each grade level
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Academic Content Standards

• The Standard statement
• Describes in broad terms what students should
  know and be able to do as a result of the K-12
  program.
• Provides an overarching goal, theme or statement
  about the content area.

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Benchmarks

• Measure student progress toward meeting Standards
  
• Serve as a checkpoint of cumulative knowledge and
  skills over a grade span
• Vary depending on content area
• Are assessed on achievement tests

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Indicators

• Are specific statements of knowledge and skills
  at each grade level
• Serve as checkpoints that monitor progress toward
  benchmarks

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Science Scope and Sequence
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P P P P P
P P P P P P
P P P P P P
P P P P P P
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Standards-Based Education Elements

• What students know and are able to do is clearly
  defined before an instructional unit begins.
• Lesson plans focus on what is to be learned
  rather than what is to be taught.
• Instructional strategies must provide
  opportunities for students to learn expectations
  outlined in the Standards.

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Standards-Based Education Elements

• Instruction and assessment are adapted to
  accommodate students with special needs or
  alternative learning styles.
• Curricular materials need to address standards
• Many stakeholders share responsibility for
  standards-based education.

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Standards-Based Education Elements
Modified from Northern Colorado BOCEES SBE
Design Team
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Aligning to the Standards

• Are classroom instruction and assessments aligned
  with the Standards?
• What should be considered when developing
  classroom instruction and assessment?
• Will classroom assessments provide high quality,
  useful diagnostic information?
• How can teachers and students measure learning
  and progress toward the Standards?

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Aligning to the Standards
Click on the following links to learn more
about The Learning Cycle and Classroom
Inquiry Standards-based Science
Instruction Standards-based Science
Assessment Teacher Tools for Reflecting on
Teaching Science Student Tools for Reflecting on
Learning Science