Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place

Author: Jerald, C.
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
Publication Date: 2003, November
Publication City: Alexandria
Publication State: VA
Journal: Educational Leadership
Journal Volume: 61(3)
Pages: 12-16
Full text available online at: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/nov03/vol61/num03/Beyond_the_Rock_and_the_Hard_Place.aspx

Abstract (written by WestEd)

Jerald implores educators to stop lamenting the challenges of accountability and instead start making improvements in three key areas.

1. "Teachers need a common, coherent, and specific curriculum telling them what students should have learned at the end of each grade level and at key checkpoints along the way." This responsibility is best left to the district.
   
   
2. More districtwide and other local assessments should be used to monitor progress on the curriculum and pinpoint which students need extra assisstance on specific skills or content areas. The data can also guide support of teachers in areas where they are weaker. School staff need to learn to better use student achievement datat on a regular basis to make informed decisions about what is and is not working in classrooms.
   
   
3. Schools must create a culture of problem solving to "remove barriers to learning, create new approaches when old ones fail, and think hard about how to make what they do work for all students rather than just for some." Like peeling an onion, a school team must identify which students are not succeeding and then peel away the layers indicating why and then what the teacher and school can do to solve the problem.