Written By Joseph Deem Ed.D. The science of writing is built on decades of research from around the world. Writing research shows what works in writing instruction. The science of writing research reveals that structured writing instruction is essential because…
Screen Time Backlash The Growing Tech-lash to School-Based Screentime
Written By Joseph Deem Ed.D. Student screentime is defined as any time spent at school on a virtual device such as a computer, television, or phone. Student screentime is becoming a controversial issue with a backlash (techlash) growing within parent…
The Importance of District Wide Systems for Effective Schools
Written by Joseph Deem Ed.D. To achieve ideal student results, districts must be systems driven. Effective systems require district-wide adherence. The systems must be monitored and supportive. At a minimum, the systems must include: High-quality standards-based curricula Calendars that define…
Standards Plus Boosts Student Success
Written By Joseph Deem Ed.D. DECLINING ACHIEVEMENT TEST SCORES Before the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years and before the negative impact of COVID’s remote learning debacle, national test scores were steadily increasing. Unfortunately, when students returned to school after the…
Improve Student Achievement and Close the Achievement Gap — by Teaching to the Objective
Written By Carolyn Goode For decades, schools and districts across the country have searched for ways to improve their students’ academic performance. Numerous articles and books are available, and educators continue to implement strategies proven to work with all children,…
Dispelling Anti-Achievement Mythology Why Rigorous Standards and Achievement Tests are Essential
Written By Joseph Deem Ed.D. Myth 1 Rigorous standards and achievement tests stifle creativity. Myth 2 Rigorous standards and achievement tests always narrow the curriculum. Myth 3 Rigorous standards and achievement tests inevitably discriminate. A Misguided Trend is…
Many Students Are Not Competent Writers
Written By Joseph Deem Ed.D. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, three-quarters of 12th and 8th graders lack proficiency in writing, and 40 percent of high school juniors who took a recent ACT writing exam lacked the reading…
The Evolution of the Competent Learner Concept and How It Benefits Students
Written By Joseph Deem Ed. D Merriam Webster defines competence as having essential or adequate ability or qualities. In an educational setting, competence means having the necessary behaviors, ability, knowledge, or skill to enable learning. As an educator, competence means…
Why It’s Critical to Ethically Prepare Students for High-Stakes Assessments
Written By Joseph Deem Ed.D. All students face challenges related to test specific processes. These challenges include the ability to employ test specific strategies that allow them to accurately demonstrate their mastery of grade level academic content. Numerous studies indicate…
The relationship between Academic English, English Language development and Standards Plus Lessons
According to recent research (2021) conducted by the Linguistic Minority Research Institute at the University of California, “Learning Academic English is one of the surest, most reliable ways of attaining socio-economic success in the United States today.” As educators, our…
Grade Level Instruction Is Important For All Students
Written By Joseph Deem ED.D. Standards Plus staunchly advocates that schools should provide equal opportunities that ensure all students will learn their current grade-level standards. Students who fall behind should receive appropriate intervention while still learning important grade-level content. However, most…
CDE Release Learning Recovery Funds
In November 2022, the CDE released 3.9 billion dollars in Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant funding to accelerate learning recovery. An additional 3.9 billion dollars will be apportioned in spring 2023. This funding is more flexible than previous Expanded Learning…
The Best Ways to Address Virtual Classroom Challenges
Distance learning is creating new unprecedented challenges for teachers. Each class environment, and student, presents a unique situation. Virtual classes often have up to 35 students joining remotely, and teachers are working exceptionally hard to bring all these diverse situations…
How to Address the Ramifications of Adaptive Learning
Adaptive learning uses technology to facilitate personalized instruction for individual students by applying algorithms and data to adjust the pace and path of learning. The concept of adaptive learning got introduced in the 1970s; however, it became more prevalent during…
What is Recovered Lost Learning and Why Is It Important?
Typically, over the summer break, student achievement scores decline by one month compared to the previous school year. However, the projections for this year are even more disheartening. Student learning loss from last school year’s distance learning experience is estimated…
Calendar Your Standards Plus Lessons NOW!
“That which gets calendared gets done.” I have yet to meet an effective educator who does not live by their school calendars and/or lesson plan books. Calendaring instruction is such a basic teacher ritual that thinking about teaching without a…
Standards Plus and Blended Learning
As a Standards Plus employee, I am privileged to interact with curriculum and instruction experts from around the country, and sometimes from around the world. One concept I have attempted to explore is “blended Learning.” I tried to discuss this…
Maximizing Your Mathematics Instruction
There is a common misconception that the majority of benchmark skills shifted across grade levels, and traditional problem solving methods and algorithms are not part of the new standards – this is simply not true. In fact, the new standards…
How to Effectively Teach the New Reading Standards
With the new standards come high expectations for both students and educators alike. The necessity to effectively teach to a set of standards is now more important than ever. To meet the expectations of the new standards, consider ways to…
What to do While Waiting for a New Adoption
Is your school one of the schools that still has a previous Language Arts adoption in place? Do you, as a teacher, have very little in the way of curricular materials that match the new standards? You’re not alone. So…