In an environment where anything and everything is on the school budget chopping block, we must be proactive educators to protect our programs. Whether we teach elementary education, secondary core subject areas, elective or career technical courses, we can no longer sit back and expect our programs to be secure. What can we do? To build on our previous tip about standardized testing, we must clearly show how we are living up to the standards set before us, and how we are preparing students for standardized testing.

No one knows this challenge better than Scott Burke and Tom Moore, Colorado educators who have come together to develop Contextual Learning Concepts, which “strengthens school for all kids, all teachers, and all communities by reengineering and rejuvenating existing programs resulting in Rigor, Relevance and Relationships”. Burke and Moore pioneered the “Geometry in Construction” program, which connects academic curriculum to real world scenarios. Each year students navigate through the geometry standards by building a house, yes a real house, which is then donated to a service organization such as Habitat for Humanity.  Visit their website for more information. You’ll be inspired by how these teachers took the responsibility of protecting their programs and keeping curriculum relevant to a whole new level!

Tips to Try: Here are a few ways you can more clearly connect your content to standards, and prepare students for standardized testing

• Give each student a copy of your content area standards at the beginning of the year. Students keep in their binders, and highlight standards as they are covered.
• Review core content standards across the curriculum. Make a goal to incorporate one standard from another class each week. Document and share with administration.
• Pick one standard from a core content area to focus on for each chapter of your text. Empower your students! Give each student a copy of the standard, and as an assignment, they are to come up with a fun way to incorporate this standard in your class.
• Print old tests, cut out the questions, and place in a bowl in the front of your room. Start each day by having a student draw out the question. If content hasn’t yet been covered, have students dissect what the question is asking and identify key “test vocabulary”.