ASCL believes that in a standards-based education system, educators must work cooperatively and collaboratively in order to improve student achievement. Achieving high standards requires a concerted effort by everyone involved in the education of students, and they must come to an agreement on:

What is taught,

How it is assessed, and

What constitutes "proficient" or "exemplary."

ASCL provides clients with the resources they need to achieve standards-aligned educational practices. ASCL offers the following four cornerstone professional development modules to assist clients in achieving educational practices that are aligned to standards:

1. Understanding how to align academic content standards with the numerous high-stakes assessments and accountability measures, including national, state, and local measures.

2. Identifying and implementing strategies to target standards, cluster standards around important concepts, and develop appropriate instruction. This includes aligning academic content and career-technical education standards at the secondary level.

3. Establishing vertical alignment of standards between elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and institutes of higher education.

4. Developing ongoing, ample and appropriate, high-quality professional development around standards-based instruction to continue what ASCL has helped put in place.

Contact ASCL for more information.