Curriculum+Work+Group

Curriculum Work Group
Maxims:

3 - About 20% of children make only three years of language and math growth their first five years of life. They enter kindergarten with the skills of three-year-olds.

4 - Another 20% of children make four years of language and math growth in their first five years. They enter kindergarten with skills typical of four-year-olds.

8 - 100% of the achievement gap in reading and 67% of the gap in math originates in the home before a student's first day of kindergarten.

23 - When students leave kindergarten three years behind in reading, they must make two full years' growth plus annual growth in the first, second, and third grades to be at grade level by the end of third grade.

28 - The power of a 90% reading goal at third grade is that it focuses the elementary systems on delivering the single most crucial academic skill—reading—which is the foundation to life-long learning.

45 - Rigor, engagement, lesson purpose, and results are hallmarks of excellent instruction.

49 - Elementary school teachers generally feel responsible to create growth in students. Middle and high school teachers are more likely to provide students with the opportunity to learn.

53 - Sub-skills for math at the elementary level include addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts, one to one correspondence, counting, and sequencing.

61 - The primary driver of catch-up growth is increased instructional time. This is true in math as well as reading.

67 - The research shows that silent sustained reading improves the abilities of students who already read well but results in very little improvement for those who don't read at grade level.

79 - Merely allocating additional time does not mean that it will be spent on the deficient sub-skill.

82 - Teaching to the deficient sub-skill requires nimbleness, flexibility, and a high level of ability to adapt material (or create it, if necessary) for the targeted student.