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…
Improve Student Achievement and Close the Achievement Gap — by Teaching to the Objective
For decades, schools and districts across the country have searched for ways to improve student academic performance and close the achievement gap. Articles and books have been written and educators continue to implement strategies proven to work with all children,…
Why It’s More Critical Than Ever to Ethically Prepare Students for High-Stakes Assessments
Why It’s More Critical Than Ever to Ethically Prepare Students for High-Stakes Assessments With the advent of COVID 19, distance learning, and the upcoming online state assessments, there are many previously unforeseen testing related challenges. According to a recent Pew…
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…
How California Schools Can Use Relief Funds to Best Help Students
As an incentive for California public schools to reopen this spring for in-person instruction, Governor Newsom has proposed providing an additional $2 billion to school districts that submit a COVID-19 safety plan by February 1, 2021. This amount represents an…
Reasons Why The Majority of Students Are Not Competent Writers
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 the ACT writing exam in 2016 lacked the reading and writing skills necessary…
The Evolution of the Competent Learner Concept and Why It Benefits Students
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 facilitate learning. As an educator, competence means more than being adequate. It means…
Helping Students Who Suffered the Most from Last Year’s Lost Learning
The COVID 19 pandemic has created many new and unique educational issues. It is abundantly clear that most students experienced some degree of lost learning. Admirably, most school districts fixed the various non-attendance, grading, and technology issues that plagued the…
Why Grade Level Instruction Is Important For All Students
Standards Plus has staunchly advocated that schools should provide equal opportunities to ensure that all students learn their current grade-level standards. Students who have fallen behind should receive appropriate intervention while still learning pertinent grade-level material. However, most adaptive 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…