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All students are expected to meet high academic
standards. Teachers supply students with exemplars of high quality
work that meets the performance standard. Students revise their
work based on feedback until they meet or exceed the performance
standard.
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Curriculum, instruction, and assessment are
aligned with high standards. They provide a coherent vision
for what students should know and be able to do. The curriculum
is rigorous and non-repetitive; it moves forward substantially
as students progress through the middle grades.
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The curriculum emphasizes deep understanding
of important concepts, development of essential skills, and
the ability to apply what one has learned to real-world problems.
By making connections across the disciplines, the curriculum
helps reinforce important concepts.
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Instructional strategies include a variety of
challenging and engaging activities that are clearly related
to the concepts and skills being taught.
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Teachers use a variety of methods to assess
student performance (e.g., exhibitions, projects, performance
tasks) and maintain a collection of student work. Students learn
how to assess their own and others' work against the performance
standards.
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The school provides students time to meet rigorous
academic standards. Flexible scheduling enables students to
engage in extended projects, hands-on experiences, and inquiry-based
learning. Most class time is devoted to learning and applying
knowledge or skills rather than classroom management and discipline.
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Students have the supports they need to meet
rigorous academic standards. They have multiple opportunities
to succeed and extra help as needed.
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The adults in the school have opportunities
to plan, select, and engage in professional development aligned
with nationally recognized standards. They have regular opportunities
to work with their colleagues to deepen their knowledge and
improve their practice. They collaborate in making decisions
about rigorous curriculum and effective instructional methods.
They discuss student work as a means of enhancing their own
practice.
