1. Standards-Based Education in Texas
TEKS for Teachers
Standards-Based
Education in Texas

2. Welcome
Welcome to the Region 10 Education Service Center online professional development session, TEKS for Teachers.

3. Training Goals
The objective of this training is to provide you with foundational information relating to standards-based education in Texas
Following the presentation of the material, you will take an online quiz.
Upon satisfactory completion, you will print a certificate of completion for the training and give it to your administrator.

4. Three Sections
This online staff development is divided into three sections:
Section 1: Standards-based Education and the TEKS
Section 2: Accountability Connections
Section 3: Special Circumstances

5. Section 1: Standards-based Education and the TEKS
What’s it all about?
Section 1: Standards-based Education and the TEKS

6. Section 1 Objectives
After completing this section you will be able to:
Identify the basic principles of standards-based education
Differentiate between content and performance objectives
Identify and define the parts of the TEKS document
Explain the meaning and implications of alignment as it relates to the TEKS

7. Introduction
Standards-based education has been a driving principle of educational change for more than a decade.
Central to the concept are high-stakes testing, accountability and high expectations for all students to achieve established standards.

8. Introduction
The pervasiveness of standards has been further reinforced by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, which requires states to establish standards for student learning and to measure student progress using assessments aligned with those standards.

9. Do you agree? With which of the following premises would you agree?
Teachers should clearly know what content and skills they are responsible for teaching.
Students and their parents should know what content students are responsible for learning.
Assessments should align with content taught.
There should be accountability of teachers and schools for student achievement.

10. Three Principles
Most educators would agree with all the statements presented.
Together, the premises help to define three foundational principles of standards-based instruction:
Standards
Assessment
Accountability

11. Standards-Based Education
As we consider the meaning and implications of standards-based education, we must first consider a fundamental question…
What is a standard?

12. A standard is… High expectations or goals
Minimum acceptable requirements or expectations
That against which we measure
A model or example of what is valued
A means for determining what should be

13. In other words… Standards are what we work toward.
They are what “should be” and therefore help us to define high expectations, and
Allow educators to work toward commonly agreed upon goals.

14. These multiple definitions of the word “standard” provide a foundation for our definition of standards-based education.

15. Standards-Based Education
Is a process for planning, delivering, monitoring and improving academic programs in which clearly defined academic content standards provide the basis for content in instruction and assessment.

16. Standards-Based Education
Generally
Includes agreed upon, high levels of expectation or performance
Focuses on the ends, not on the means
Involves some form of accountability
Aims for a high and deep level of student understanding

17. ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
Stop and Think
Think about what you might consider advantages of standards-based education. Jot down your answers before clicking to view some of our suggestions.
___________
Teachers know what they are responsible for teaching
___________
Provides a common vocabulary of content expectations
___________
Ensures focus is on important content
___________
Provides a foundation for curriculum development
___________
Content builds from grade to grade
___________
Provides a foundation for accountability
___________
Eliminates gaps and/or repetition
___________
Focuses on high expectations and student success

18. TEKS Standards in Texas…
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, comprise the state-mandated curriculum that establishes what every student, from elementary school through high school, should know and be able to do.
TEKS

19. In Texas…
The TEKS provide a clear picture of how students develop academically from grade to grade in order to perform successfully in educational and real-world settings.
TEKS

20. The TEKS DO NOT PROVIDE A complete scope and sequence
A course outline or
ALL the skills and knowledge students could have
THEY DO
Outline the most important essential skills and knowledge all students should have

21. Essential Student Expectations
The TEKS provide…
High levels of content
and
Essential Student Expectations

22. Emphasizing depth of knowledge
The TEKS provide…
Rigor by
Emphasizing depth of knowledge

23. Standards for content: Standards for performance:
The TEKS provide…
Standards for content:
The understandings or knowledge students must learn
and
Standards for performance:
What must the students do with the knowledge, and what skills must they develop in order to demonstrate their understanding of the content?

24. TEKS Format
Now, let’s look more closely at the TEKS documents and the way they are formatted.

25. TEKS Format Knowledge and Skills Student Expectations
There are four divisions in each TEKS document
Introduction
Strands
Knowledge and Skills
Student Expectations

26. Introduction
Introduction
The Introduction section provides key contextual information and a brief overview of the essential knowledge and skills for a grade or course.
Strands
Knowledge and Skills
Student Expectations

27. Introduction Sample: §111.22. Mathematics, Grade 6
(1)  Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 6 are using ratios to describe direct proportional relationships involving number, geometry, measurement, probability, and adding and subtracting decimals and fractions
Strands
Knowledge and Skills
Student Expectations

28. Strands
Introduction
The Strands serve as organizers for the Knowledge and Skills statements.
Strands c
Knowledge and Skills
Student Expectations

29. Strands Sample: Mathematics Grades K-8
Number, operation, and quantitative reasoning
Patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking
Geometry and Spatial Reasoning
Measurement
Probability and Statistics
Problem solving, language, and communication
Introduction
Strands c
Knowledge and Skills
Student Expectations

30. Knowledge and Skills
Introduction
The content standards in the TEKS are the Knowledge and Skills statements which outline the essential concepts and skills to be learned.
Strands
Knowledge and Skills c
Student Expectations

31. Knowledge and Skills Sample: Mathematics Grade 6
Introduction
(6.6)  Geometry and spatial reasoning.
The student uses geometric vocabulary to describe angles, polygons, and circles.
Strands
Knowledge and Skills c
Student Expectations

32. Student Expectations
Introduction
The Student Expectations describe what students should be able to do to demonstrate proficiency in what is described in the Knowledge and Skills statement.
Strands
Knowledge and Skills
Student Expectations c

33. Student Expectations Sample: Mathematics Grade 6
(6.6)  Geometry and spatial reasoning.
The student uses geometric vocabulary to describe angles, polygons, and circles.
The student is expected to:
A)  use angle measurements to classify angles as acute, obtuse, or right;
(B)  identify relationships involving angles in triangles and quadrilaterals; and
(C)  describe the relationship between radius, diameter, and circumference of a circle
Introduction
Strands
Knowledge and Skills
Student Expectations c

34. TEKS Example: 7th Mathematics
Strand
Geometry and Spatial Reasoning
Knowledge and Skills
7.6 The student compares and classifies two- and three-dimensional figures using geometric vocabulary and properties.
Student Expectations
use angle measurements to classify pairs of angles as complementary or supplementary;
use properties to classify triangles and quadrilaterals;
use properties to classify three-dimensional figures, including pyramids, cones, prisms, and cylinders; and
use critical attributes to define similarity.

35. This graphic illustrates the formatting of TEKS documents
TEKS Format
This graphic illustrates the formatting of TEKS documents

36. Let’s Review Introduction Strands Knowledge and Skills
Key contextual information and a brief overview of the essential knowledge and skills for a grade or course
Strands
Organizers for the knowledge and skills statements
Knowledge and Skills
Concepts and skills to be learned
Student Expectations
Demonstration of the concepts and skills learned

37. Check for understanding
Match the TEKS section with its description, then click to check.
Introduction
Concepts & skills to be learned
Strands
Brief overview
Organizers
Knowledge and Skills
Demonstration of concepts and skills learned
Student Expectations

38. Vertical Alignment
The TEKS are vertically aligned so that the content (Knowledge and Skills) and performance (Student Expectations) objectives build in rigor and complexity from grade to grade.
Insert pictures of students at different grade levels

39. Alignment means every teacher
Understands what is expected of students
Understands these expectations within the context of the K-12 program
Accepts responsibility for these expectations for all students

40. Temperature Vertical Alignment Grades K-6
The next slide will show a small sample of the vertical alignment within the TEKS.
The student expectations you will examine are from the Measurement strand of elementary mathematics and include only those Student Expectations related to temperature.
Notice how the student expectations build in rigor and complexity from Kindergarten to Grade 6.
Temperature
Grades K-6

41. Vertical Alignment: Temperature
Grade.K&S Student Expectations
K.10 (E) Compare situations or objects according to relative temperature (hotter/colder than, or the same as)
1.7 (G) Compare and order two or more objects according to relative temperature (from hottest to coldest)
2.10 (A) Read a thermometer to gather data
3.12 (A) Use a thermometer to measure temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
4.12 (A) Use a thermometer to measure temperature in degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius and changes in temperature
5.11 (A) Solve problems involving changes in temperature
6.8 (B) Select and use appropriate units, tools, or formulas to measure and to solve problems involving …temperature

42. The standards outlined in the
TEKS
are
non-negotiable

43. In other words…
What do I want my students to know and be able to do after this lesson?
The Knowledge and Skills and Student Expectations must serve as the basis for instructional planning so that all teachers first consider what they want the students to know and be able to do as a result of their instruction.

44. TEKS are instructional anchors
In addition to the vertical alignment discussed earlier, the TEKS are meant to be “anchors”, aligning
Curriculum
Instruction
Assessment
Instruction
Curriculum
Assessment
TEKS

45. Vertical Alignment District curriculum is aligned with the TEKS
Instruction is aligned with district curriculum A L I G N M E T
The TEKS are vertically aligned and foundational to all instruction

46. Vertical Alignment Classroom-Based Assessment Systems
Benchmark Testing
TAKS Testing

47. OYO (On Your On)
Click on the link below to access the TEKS document(s) for your subject/grade level.
Focus Questions:
Can you identify the parts of the document?
Select one Knowledge and Skills statement and study the Student Expectations that are associated with it at your grade level, the one below and one above. Is the vertical alignment apparent?

48. OYO (On Your On)
Click on the link below to access the TEA website “Frequently Asked Questions” about the TEKS.
Focus Question:
Scroll down to Question 7 and read the clarification provided on the use of the terms “including” and “such as” in the TEKS.

49. Let’s Review
Why should you be familiar with the TEKS at grade levels other than the one(s) you teach?
What is the meaning of standards-based education?
Describe the principle of vertical alignment as it relates to the TEKS documents.
Describe the relationship between the TEKS and daily classroom instruction and assessment.

50. Remember…
The more familiar you are with the formal curriculum expectations, the more comfortable and creative you can be in planning effective teaching-learning cycles.
Could insert picture of teacher planning.

51. End of Section 1
This concludes Section 1 of TEKS for Teachers online staff development.