The Leader's Guide to Standards: A Blueprint for Educational Equity and Excellence (Jossey Bass Education Series) - Hardcover

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Douglas B. Reeves-- one of the nation's leading authorities on academic standards, performance assessment, and accountability-- is the chairman and founder of the Center for Performance Assessment. He is the author of fourteen books, including The Daily Disciplines of Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2002). Reeves was named to the Distinguished Authors Series by the Harvard University Graduate School of Education for 2002 and won the Parent's Choice Award for his book, 20-Minute Learning Connection. He was named Education Writer of the Year by the California County Superintendents Association.

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In today's school environment educational leaders are mandated to use academic standards to measure the progress of their school's teachers and students. Despite the wealth of material that addresses the topic of academic standards there is little written for those who must lead the effort to put in place an effective standards system. The Leader's Guide to Standards is a landmark book written by Douglas Reeves, an expert in academic standards, performance assessment, and accountability that shows school principals, assistant principals, teachers, and district-level administrators how to build a comprehensive accountability system for standards-based reform that focuses on leadership skills. Reeves offers practical recommendations for assessing and nurturing teacher performance, setting up balanced assessment and accountability policies, and making the case for standards to the public. In addition, the book addresses the vital role that policymakers from the local school board to state and national leaders play in the successful implementation of educational standards.

Aus dem Klappentext

Today academic standards are a reality in almost every school in the nation. Without effective leadership, however, standards are impotent, reflecting wishful thinking rather than educational progress. Moreover, the early errors of the standards movement along with the anti-standards backlash threatens to destroy this promising educational reform. The ultimate success of academic standards depends on leaders at all levels who understand the difference between a fad and a value.

In this important book Douglas Reeves a nationally acclaimed expert on educational standards contends that educational standards are the most fair way to assess student performance. The Leader's Guide to Standards is a landmark volume that offers instructions for school principals, assistant principals, teachers, and district-level administrators for building a comprehensive accountability system that focuses on leadership skills. This much-needed resource is filled with practical recommendations for assessing and nurturing teacher performance, setting up balanced assessment and accountability policies, and making the case for standards to the public.

The Leader's Guide to Standards reveals the inherent weakness in comparing the quality of student work with that of other students and offers information about the evolution and current state of academic standards. Throughout the book, Reeves shows school leaders how they can add value to existing state and national standards and reveals how to make the discussion about standards more productive by shifting the focus away from the legal mandate to rest on a foundation of fundamental fairness. This basic shift in focus opens the opportunity to acknowledge the flaws in standards without sacrificing the value of fairness.

The Leader's Guide to Standards offers hope that by holding firm to fundamental values, school leaders can make their institutions places where fairness, mutual respect, and unlimited opportunities for success flourish.