Teachers Are Translating Professional Development Into Effective Classroom Practice
In the past decade, states and districts have implemented reforms that hold students to high standards of academic performance and their schools accountable for ensuring that all students meet those standards. Holding districts, schools, and, by extension, teachers publicly accountable for improving student performance reflects a big change from the days when students advanced routinely from grade to grade with little measurement of learning and few repercussions for students or teachers. The classroom environment has become more challenging, especially in underperforming schools. Increasing numbers of students are English language learners, have special education needs, or come from poverty, unstable families, or unsafe neighborhoods. Accountability measures are requiring more of teachers. Standards and accountability systems show schools what is broken, then sanction them if they don't fix it.