Use this brief to learn how high-performing districts structure their English Language Arts operations and use effective teaching strategies
New state standards require new skills from students, leaving many teachers with outdated teaching practices that do not directly address standards. This research serves as a guide to compare your operations to districts that have scored highly on English Language Arts (ELA) state testing to obtain effective language arts teaching strategies.
This resource covers district-level standardization, evaluation, and support, as well as group-based and individually responsive in-classroom ELA programming. See how administrators at all profiled districts aim to provide consistent and universally valuable ELA curricula, support ELA teacher instructional development, and provide students with innovative ways to engage with ELA material.
Standardize ELA curricula for a common student experienceAdministrators at all profiled districts standardize ELA curricula centrally to ensure that classrooms deliver consistently high-level programming. Districts differ in the ELA program elements that administrators choose to standardize (e.g., texts, units), but administrators generally use state standards to guide curricular design. Administrators at all profiled districts aim to balance standardization with preservation of teacher autonomy so that teachers can adjust their instruction to unique classroom and student needs.
Review district-wide and classroom-specific assessment data regularlyAdministrators at District A, District C, District D, and District E measure curricular success through district-wide assessments and classroom-specific measures of individual student progress. Using both sets of assessments allows administrators to both identify district-wide and classroom-specific…