What Every Parent Should Know About Schools, Standards, and High Stakes Tests

Donna Walker Tileston is a veteran teacher and administrator. She is currently the president of Strategic Teaching and Learning, a consulting firm that provides services to schools throughout the United States and worldwide. Donna's publications include Ten Best Teaching Practices: How Brain Research, Learning Styles, and Standards Define Teaching Competencies (2000), which has been on Corwin's bestseller list since its first year in print, in addition to the ten-volume award-winning series What Every Teacher Should Know, now in its second edition. Other recent titles are Teaching Strategies for Active Learning (2006), Teaching Strategies that Prepare Students for High Stakes Tests (2008), and Closing the Poverty and Culture Gap (2009). Donna received her BA from the University of North Texas, her MA from East Texas State University, and her EdD from Texas A & M University-Commerce. She may be reached at www.whateveryteachershouldknow.com

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter One: Whose Standards? The History Behind School Standards No Child Left Behind How To Access The Standards For Your Child's School National Standards Chapter Two: Why Standards Are Important to Education How Standards Help Produce Alignment That Leads to Equity Alignment in the Classroom Standards as a Measuring Rod for Schools Why Adequate Yearly Progress Matters What To Do If Adequate Yearly Progress Is Not Being Achieved Why Alignment Is Important The Reality of Alignment Five Things Parents Can Do Chapter Three: Standards and Alignment The Format Of Standards and Benchmarks How Standards Are Used as a Guide for What Teachers Teach Why The Instructional Practice Is Important to Student Success How Standards Are Used as a Guide for What Teachers Assess What Does The Research Say is the Best Way to Teach Vocabulary? What Processes Will Students Need To Know? Chapter Four: Asking the Right Questions What are the Standards and Benchmarks for My State's Schools? How do I Know That My Child's School is Teaching to the State Standards? What Do I Need to Know About the High Stakes Test Given in My State? What Information Do I Need at the Local School Level? What Other Information is Important to Examine on the School's State Report Card? How Can I be Sure That My Child's School Keeps Current With Quality Research on Learning? What Questions Should I Ask When Adequate Yearly Progress Is Not Being Achieved? What Can We Do To Improve the Education System? Where Can I Go For More Information? What If? Chapter Five: Helping Your Child Master High Stakes Tests Know the Vocabulary Practice Compare and Contrast Pay Attention to Your Child's Stress Levels Glossary References Index

"Very informative to me - both as an experienced teacher and a parent. It was an easy read, full of wonderful information, and very thought provoking!" -- Susan E. Fisher, NBCT "A definite contribution to this field...it relays the facts of the past and the wave of the future." -- Melanie Sitzer-Hedges "Parent friendly and an easy read.The material is useful as it explains not only what the standards are, but how to read them." "The author did an adequate job of explaining the standards so that the lay person could not only read them, but also apply them by using the questions to check the standards at their school." -- Sandra Kraynok "Very timely with the push of the 'No Child left Behind' legislation, which has really highlighted school standards and the attainment of these standards. It seems to cut through all of the language/jargon and give a clearer understanding of standards and what is going on in education." -- Stephanie A. Slowik "Not only am I an educator but I am a single mom of two. I read this book from both perspectives and was enlightened by the information. Every parent should be aware of the information in it, especially those who move frequently." -- Stacy Slomko "Gives a better understanding of what the standards mean, what to do with the standards, and what to do if standards aren't being met by a school." -- Shannon Journell