Readings

Readings related to the work of Fred Newmann:

Reading related to using professional conversation about teaching/lesson study to improve instruction and support educational reform

Readings the contextualize the school reform movement:

According to Arthur Applebee, this Smith and O'Day research from 1991 was influential in beginnning the standards-based reform movement: "//To provide coherent direction for educational reform throughout the system, a state must have a common vision of what schools should be like. . . . The first step in developing a coherent system of instrucitonal guidance is to work toward agreement on a core body of challenging and engaging knowledge, skills and problem-solving capacities as goals for all students//" (p. 6).

This reading discusses this history of the accountability-driven reform efforts and identifies the problems associated with reform efforts that are overly dependent on high-stakes assessments or test-based accountability to drive instruction.