Power Standards

Introduction
Inarajan Middle School
September 14, 2015

Why are we here? Have

you ever
O been overwhelmed by the demands

of too many standards and too few

classroom hours?
O said to yourself, I just dont have
the time to teach everything I am
expected to teach?
O been frustrated with the focus on
breadth over depth?

Beginning with end in

mind
Picture this scenario..
You pack your family into the car for
a family vacation you stop at the
gas station and fill up the tank (it
costs $65.00 to fill the tank) you
get on the on the road to start your
trip with your children already
beginning to ask, are we there
yet? You look at your spouse and
the two of you simultaneously ask,
Where are we going anyways? --Does this make sense?

To begin with the end in mind means

to start with a clear understanding of
your destination. It means to know
where youre going so that you better
understand where you are now so that
the steps you take are always in the
right direction.
(Covey, 1994)

Objectives for today

O To introduce the concepts of

power standards, benchmarks,

and unwrapping the standards
O To develop a common vocabulary
and understanding of terms
related to this process
O To establish a timeline for
developing Power Standards and
Assessments

How does one go about

determining what is worth
understanding?
Worth being
familiar with

Important to know
and do
Enduring
Understanding
Wiggins and McTighe, 2000

Written
Curriculum

Deep Curriculum
Alignment
Taught

Tested

Curriculum

Curriculum

English and Steffy, 2001

POWER STANDARDS
Power standards are prioritized
standards that are derived from a
systematic and balanced approach to
distinguishing which standards are
absolutely essential for student
success from those that are nice to
know.
Ainsworth, 2004

The dilemma of
standards
Marzano (2001) found that
O Average 200 broad standards;
O 3093 benchmarks
O Feasibility given # of

days/hours/minutes
O Necessary to lengthen to grades
21-22 prior to college
O Increase time or decrease standards

Source: (Marzano and Kendall;MACREL,

Awash in a Sea of Standards ,1999)

With all these

standards
O Teacher becomes overwhelmed
O Focus on breadth over depth
O Teachers play the blame game
O In the end, students lose out as

teachers glaze over all the

standards and rush to cover all the
standards

So whats the answer?

LESS is more!!!!

Leverage
Endurance
Success

in
School

To begin this process, the

guiding question
becomes
What do your students need for
success in school this year, next
year, and so on (leverage; readiness
for next levels of learning), in life
(endurance), and on your District
Wide Assessments?

What is the process?

O Select area to address (i.e. Math, ELA,
O
O
O
O
O

Science/Technology, etc)
Within subject area, select strand to address
Selection of Power Standards individual
=> as group
Review selection in alignment with state
testing
Select skills within the standards selected
(individual => as group)
Review selection in alignment with state
testing

Process Continued
O Examine Learning Progression

within grade-spans
O Grade-span sharing
O Sequencing of standards
O Development of periodic
assessments to identify student
strengths/weaknesses in
meeting the Power Standards
O Address in action plan

The timeline
O August Staff Professional

development
O September O October
O November

The Timeline
O December
O January

The Timeline
O February
O March

The timeline
O April
O May
O June

As we go through this process,

always remember
We are all in this together
This process will benefit both you as the teacher and, more
importantly, your ability to ensure that our students are able to
surpass the curricular demands of the Guam Department of
Education.

Most importantly

It is a process, not an event; a

marathon, not a sprint.
(Larry Ainsworth, 2004)