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About the Curriculum Matrix
Answering the Question: What Should We Teach?
Schools today face conflicting challenges. - Meet the
proficiency requirements of state academic standards and tests under No Child
Left Behind
- Prepare students more effectively for the world in which
they will live and work.
So, how can schools and teachers ensure that:
- their own vision of a complete education doesn't get lost in the rush to teach
to the test?
- their students receive a rigorous and relevant education?
There is no simple solution. But districts can begin with a shared vision
of a quality education: focusing instruction on state standards, state tests,
and the essential skills that students need to be successful. The Curriculum
Matrix, created by the International Center for Leadership in Education, is a
powerful, easy-to-use tool that - assists teachers in improving the performance
of their students on high-stakes assessments
- helps students acquire the knowledge
and skills they will need to succeed after graduation.
The Curriculum
Matrix correlates your own state standards in English language arts, mathematics,
and science with: - state assessments required by NCLB
- the results
of the Survey of Essential Skills, in which 18,000 educators and community members
identified the most essential curricular content for high school graduates.
The Curriculum Matrix indicates which state standards/benchmarks/performance indicators/topics
should be high priorities, based on - whether - and how frequently - they
are tested
- how highly they are rated in the Survey of Essential Skills.
With this tool at their fingertips, educators can make informed decisions about
whether to place more or less emphasis on a particular standard. - Will
it help students succeed on tests?
- Is it consistent with what educators and
the community believe a high school graduate should know and be able to do?
Several resource kits are available to enable
schools to access and utilize Curriculum Matrix data. - Achieving AYP Using State-specific Curriculum Matrix Data - a K-12 professional
development tool that customizes Curriculum Matrix data for your state. Click
here for more information
- Academic Excellence Through Career and
Technical Education - crosswalks of state academic standards and tests in
high school to CTE programs. Click here for more information.
- Improving Performance for Special Education
Students -
includes the K-12 Curriculum Matrix data for your state plus customized
information for regular and special
education teachers. Click here for more information.
- Meeting High Academic Standards Through Arts Education - a professional
development kit for K-12 teachers which crosswalks of state academic standards
and tests to visual arts, dance, music, and theatre programs. Click
here for more information.
- No Child Left Behind State-specific
Resource Kit for School Leaders - ways that administrators can meet the challenges
of AYP; includes crosswalks of K-12 state standards and tests in English, math
and science. Click here for more information.
- Using
Gold Seal Lessons to Improve Instruction - a collection of 360 lessons for
grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 matched to high-priority topics tested on state assessments
and to skills needed by all students for future success. Click
here for more information.
For an order form for all of the
resources listed above, click here. |
