1. Why should we dig into the standards?
A Rationale for using the Digging deeper into the standards Process

2. RATIONALE FOR PLCs DOING THIS WORK:
According to testing data, other counties are trending upwards in their growth more than we are.
Standards have changed and learning tasks should mirror those changes.
The Unpacking Document and the language of the standard/objective can be very different.

3. RATIONALE FOR PLCs DOING THIS WORK:
The verb used in the standards/objectives should drive the depth and rigor of the learning targets and activities.
There often exists a disconnect between what the intended outcome is and what is actually learned by the students.
Not all lessons in the Science Kits fit the NC Essential Standards.

4. RATIONALE FOR PLCs DOING THIS WORK:
Finally as DuFour and Marzano state in their book Leaders of Learning:
Every Leader who attempts to implement the PLC process at either the school or district level will be encouraged to circumvent the steps in that process. Teachers are too busy to collaborate about what students should learn, so simply provide them with state standards and a district curriculum guide and skip the dialogue…It is the process of building that shared knowledge and the collaborative dialogue about that shared knowledge that builds the capacity of staff to function as high-performing teams. Every time leaders remove teams from that process, they lessen the likelihood of building capacity. (DuFour, Marzano 85)

5. WORKS CITED:
DuFour, Richard, and Robert J. Marzano. Leaders of Learning. Bloomington: Solution Tree, Print.