Curriculum & Instruction

In my 10 years of teaching the ninth grade, I have struggled with a certain category of students—the low performers. These are the students who walk into class on the first day of school expecting to fail. They know nothing about me, but I represent every adult who has ever failed them in the past. […]

Eighth-graders have made no academic progress in U.S. history, geography or civics programs over the last five years, according to the latest test results from “The Nation’s Report Card,” released this past August by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Fewer than one-third of students scored proficient or better on any of the NAEP […]

By fall 2014, figuring out how to meet the requirements of the Common Core State Standards was critical for administrators in Glendale USD. The district, which is just outside of Los Angeles and serves over 26,000 students, was in need of high-quality materials that could help them transition to the Common Core while providing each […]

More than 14.5 percent of the population of Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is comprised of students categorized as Limited English Proficient. And with more than 127,000 students districtwide, this is not an insignificant number and presents a unique challenge in meeting the district’s mission of instilling the ability to read, write, speak, […]

Once used to reflect successful memorization of facts and figures, the process of grading has transformed into a near meaningless code, often fogged by a variety of factors that have nothing to do with learning. Cathy Vatterott, a professor of education at the University of MissouriÁ¢†“St. Louis, says that over the years, grades have come […]

School gardens used for instruction are on the rise nationwide, and with them, student engagement and test scores, according to a recent study. The nonprofit REAL School Gardens works with corporations to build outdoor classrooms at low-income schools. The gardens include 150 square feet of vegetable beds, perennial and herb beds, rainwater collection systems, composting […]