This document outlines a process for teams of teachers to identify essential standards from a list of overall standards. It involves three steps: 1. Teachers individually review standards and identify those they believe are "power standards" based on criteria of endurance, leverage, and readiness. 2. Teacher teams then build consensus on the essential learnings by comparing selections and discussions. 3. Standards are further aligned by checking against other teams, grade levels, and released test items to ensure coverage of what will be assessed. The goal is to focus collective efforts on the most important standards to learn, which will then be monitored through common formative assessments.

1. Guaranteed
Viable
Curriculum
Standards/Be
nchmarks/ Individual &
Objectives Collaboration
Essential
Learnings
Data
Analysis
Common
Formative
Assessment
Strategies

2. THE SEQUEL
A process that teams can use to filter the vast
number of standards to determine which are
most essential

3. Identify the Essential Learnings, Target Outcomes or
Power Standards
From state standards, common core, district
objectives
The reason is to obtain a collective focus on what
students must learn, which will lead to what will
be monitored with common formative assessments
Based on 3 criteria

4. Endurance
Standard that students will need to
know for a longer period of time.

5. Leverage
Standard is taught and used in
more than one subject

6. Readiness
For the next level of learning

7.  Teachers individually review the list of
standards/objectives for a subject area.
 Check the standards you believe to be power
standards based on the criteria
 Meet together, but work independently
 Shouldn’t take to long
 Gut reaction

8.  Teacher teams need to come to agreement and
build a consensus about which standards are
essential learnings
 Compare common checks
 Encourage discussion vs voting
This step might take some time
Note: Important that everyone has a voice

9. Alignment-
 Check with other teams- grade level or cross-
curricular
 Look over what will likely be on state tests-
examine released items

10.  Montana Analysis and Reporting System
Can find:
 CRT release items
 Item Analysis
 Montana Common core field test items
grade 10-11-12
 Smarter Balance sample test questions
 I will email the link with the user name &
password for these sites:

11.  Next Step:
Unwrap and Analyze Standards
( Interpretation and intent )
It is important to decide when to teach each standard
and how long it will take (units)
Common Formative Assessment