Curriculum and Assessment Policy : 20 Questions for Board Members (Leading Systemic School Improvement)

Most school boards delegate curriculum and assessment to school administrators, which in effect, lowers standards and leads to aggressive intervention by policy makers at the state and federal levels. This book is designed to stimulate and assist local boards in the proper exercise of their legal authority over curriculum and assessment. It discusses why non-educators should govern the core of every school by determining what is to be learned and whether it is being learned, and how the work of the board can be divided from the work of the superintendent on such matters. Features: A graphic essay dividing the governing responsibilities of a board of education from the administrative responsibilities of the superintendent, 20 key policy questions that every board should answer, Alternate policy positions a board might consider adopting with alternative positions supported by appropriate arguments, Samples of actual policies adopted by boards to govern curriculum and illustrate the level of detail and the writing style boards might want to use for its own policies. This book will assist school board members, superintendents, curriculum directors and specialists, and testing directors, raise standards for learning in local schools.