Framework for High-Quality English Language Proficiency Standards and Assessments: Overview of Criteria
Prepared by the Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center (AACC) at WestEd, the Framework for High-Quality English Language Proficiency Standards and Assessments provides criteria for developing, implementing, and evaluating high-quality English language proficiency (ELP) standards and assessments that support English learnersā attainment of English language proficiency and achievement of academic content. This one-page document lists criteria to help states establish and maintain high-quality ELP standards and assessments.
In addition to this one-page overview, an introductory brief and the full Framework are available.
Improving Academic Preparation for College: What We Know and How State and Federal Policy Can Help
High remediation rates, stagnant college completion rates, and more time to degree completion suggest that many high school students are not fully ready to succeed academically in college.
Researchers and policymakers are asking what it truly means to be college ready. Are strong academics enough? What roles do financial and social resources play? What changes in federal and state policy would promote academic rigor and student preparation?
In this report, Robin Chait and Andrea Venezia explore these questions. They look closely at existing knowledge about postsecondary readiness and success, current federal, state, and local efforts to prepare students for college, and how well these efforts are working.
Drawing on their analysis, the authors outline a more expansive role for federal and state policy to improve preparation and readiness.
In addition, Chait and Venezia advocate for a definition of college readiness that includes:
- Academic rigor
- Grades
- Specific academic skills needed to be successful in a college-level course
- “College knowledge”āknowledge about how to apply, enroll, and succeed in a college environment
Read the executive summary of this report.
Transforming Teaching and Learning Through Data-Driven Decision Making: Classroom Insights from Educational Psychology
Many schools are required to gather student data and use data to inform instruction. But are educators formally trained in how to do this? Not necessarily.
A must-have for teachers, school and district administrators, school psychologists, and other educators, this book includes advances in research and theory on teaching and learning.
The authors’ integrated model demonstrates how to establish a data culture and transform quantitative and qualitative data into actionable knowledge in four key areas:
- Assessment
- Statistics
- Instructional and differentiated psychology
- Classroom management
Data-driven decision making and data literacy skills are at the intersection of all of these areas. WestEd’s Ellen Mandinach and co-author Sharnell S. Jackson link these areas to show how to improve student learning. Mandinach is one of the country’s leading experts in understanding data-driven decision-making in education settings.
Transforming Teaching and Learning also features vignettes demonstrating the concepts in practice and tips for using technology to assist in data-driven decision making.
What Are We Doing to Middle School English Learners? Findings and Recommendations for Change from a Study of California EL Programs (Research Report)
Within the next decade, one in every four students in U.S. classrooms will be an English learner (EL). Furthermore, secondary students make up the fastest growing sector of the EL population. In middle school (and above), students who are English learners run out of time quickly. What are schools doing during the crucial middle school years to promote English learners’ accelerated access to academic language and grade-level, standards-based instruction? How will these students catch up and be able to compete in high school, in college, and on the job market?
This study concludes that based on findings in California, where 30 percent of the nation’s English learner students are educated, middle school EL programs are failing students and limiting their futures in profound ways.
Through interviews and other data from 13 school districts with the highest concentration of English learners in the state, and from 64 middle schools in those districts, researchers in the Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) program at WestEd mapped the education landscape for middle school English learner programs. The researchers also conducted in-depth observations in a subset of schools, which contextualize the study findings and recommendations.
In addition to the Research Report, a narrative summary is also available.
What Are We Doing to Middle School English Learners?: Findings and Recommendations for Change from a Study of California EL Programs (Narrative Summary)
Within the next decade, one in every four students in U.S. classrooms will be an English learner (EL). Furthermore, secondary students make up the fastest growing sector of the EL population. In middle school (and above), students who are English learners run out of time quickly. What are schools doing during the crucial middle school years to promote English learners’ accelerated access to academic language and grade-level, standards-based instruction? How will these students catch up and be able to compete in high school, in college, and on the job market?
This overview of a recent study by Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) researchers at WestEd concludes that based on findings in California, where 30 percent of the nation’s English learners are educated, middle school EL programs are failing students and limiting their futures in profound ways.
The Narrative Summary provides an overview of study data from 13 school districts with the highest concentration of English learner students in the state, and 64 middle schools in those districts. Excerpts from case study observations in a subset of schools contextualize the highlighted recommendations for change.
In addition to the Narrative Summary, the full research report is also available.
Program for Infant/Toddler Care Module I: Social-Emotional Growth and Socialization
WestEd’s Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) has produced a series of award-winning videos and supporting materials.Ā The products include video magazines (in DVD format), curriculum guides, trainer’s manuals, and related materialsāall providing easy-to-follow techniques to ensure emotionally secure and intellectually engaging group child care. Videos are available in English, Cantonese, and Spanish. The PITC series is organized into four modules, each containing videos and print materials (see separate descriptions of each module).
Module I Print Materials:
- Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Social-Emotional Growth and Socialization
- Module I Trainer’s Manual
Module I Videos and Video Magazines:
- First Moves: Welcoming a Child to a New Caregiving Setting
- Flexible, Fearful, or Feisty: The Different Temperaments of Infants and Toddlers
- Getting in Tune: Creating Nurturing Relationships with Infants and Toddlers
Supplementary Materials for Module I:
- Addendum to Trainer’s Manual Module I
- Spanish-Language Handouts and Transparencies
For a complete list of PITC products for sale, including current prices, download the PITC order form. At the end of the form, you will find instructions on how to order materials through the California Department of Education.
Program for Infant/Toddler Care Module II: Group Care
WestEdāsĀ Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC)Ā has produced a series of award-winning videos and supporting materials.Ā The products include video magazines (in DVD format), curriculum guides, trainerās manuals, and related materialsāall providing easy-to-follow techniques to ensure emotionally secure and intellectually engaging group child care. Videos are available in English, Cantonese, and Spanish. The PITC series is organized into four modules, each containing videos and print materials (see separate descriptions of each module).
Module II Print Materials:
- Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Routines
- Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Setting Up Environments
- Module II Trainer’s Manual
Module II Videos and Video Magazines:
- It’s Not Just Routine: Feeding, Diapering, and Napping Infants and Toddlers
- Respectfully Yours: Magda Gerber’s Approach to Professional Infant/Toddler Care
- Space to Grow: Creating a Child Care Environment for Infants and Toddlers
- Together in Care: Meeting the Intimacy Needs of Infants and Toddlers in Groups
Supplementary Materials for Module II:
- Addendum to Trainer’s Manual Module II
- Spanish-Language Handouts and Transparencies
For a complete list of PITC products for sale, including current prices, download theĀ PITC order form. At the end of the form, you will find instructions on how to order materials through the California Department of Education.
Program for Infant/Toddler Care Module III: Learning and Development
WestEdāsĀ Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC)Ā has produced a series of award-winning videos and supporting materials.Ā The products include video magazines (in DVD format), curriculum guides, trainerās manuals, and related materialsāall providing easy-to-follow techniques to ensure emotionally secure and intellectually engaging group child care. Videos are available in English, Cantonese, and Spanish. The PITC series is organized into four modules, each containing videos and print materials (see separate descriptions of each module).
Module III Print Materials:
- Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Language Development and Communication
- Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Cognitive Development and Learning
- Module III Trainer’s Manual
Module III Videos and Video Magazines:
- The Ages of Infancy: Caring for Young, Mobile, and Older Infants
- Discoveries of Infancy: Cognitive Development and Learning
- Early Messages: Facilitating Language Development and Communication
Supplementary Materials for Module III:
- Addendum to Trainer’s Manual Module III
- Spanish-Language Handouts and Transparencies
For a complete list of PITC products for sale, including current prices, download theĀ PITC order form. At the end of the form, you will find instructions on how to order materials through the California Department of Education.
Program for Infant/Toddler Care Module IV: Culture, Family, and Providers
WestEdāsĀ Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC)Ā has produced a series of award-winning videos and supporting materials.Ā The products include video magazines (in DVD format), curriculum guides, trainerās manuals, and related materialsāall providing easy-to-follow techniques to ensure emotionally secure and intellectually engaging group child care. Videos are available in English, Cantonese, and Spanish. The PITC series is organized into four modules, each containing videos and print materials (see separate descriptions of each module).
Module IV Print Materials:
- Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Creating Partnerships with Parents
- Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Culturally Sensitive Care
- Module IV Trainer’s Manual
Module IV Videos and Video Magazines:
- Essential Connections: Ten Keys to Culturally Sensitive Child Care
- Protective Urges: Working with the Feelings of Parents and Caregivers
- Talking Points for Essential Connections
- Talking Points for Protective Urges
Supplementary Materials for Module IV:
- Addendum to Trainer’s Manual IV
- Spanish-Language Handouts and Transparencies
For a complete list of PITC products for sale, including current prices, download theĀ PITC order form. At the end of the form, you will find instructions on how to order materials through the California Department of Education.
A Leader's Guide to Mathematics Curriculum Topic Study
Designed for mathematics leaders, this guide provides a robust set of professional development materials to strengthen mathematics programs, enhance teachers’ content knowledge, and improve mathematics instruction.
The Curriculum Topic Study (CTS) process, funded by the National Science Foundation, supports teachers in improving practice by connecting standards and research to curricula, instruction, and assessment.
A companion to Mathematics Curriculum Topic Study, this comprehensive guide features:
- A solid foundation in the CTS study process
- A process-driven approach that accommodates the dynamic nature of standardsāadapting easily to initiatives such as the Common Core Standards for Mathematics and National Council for Teachers of Mathematics Focal Points
- Introductory sessions
- Designs and guidelines
- Practical suggestions for applying CTS to content, curricula, instruction, and formative assessment
- Examples that illustrate how to embed CTS into ongoing professional development
- Programs for half- and full-day workshops, professional learning communities, and individual coaching
- A CD-ROM with handouts, PowerPoint slides, and reproducibles
Bringing CTS into schools and other professional development settings is a highly effective way for mathematics leaders to improve teaching practices and boost student learning.