How Does Aligned·By·Design Support State Education Leaders?

Systemic improvement approaches have floundered in the past due to the absence of clear, measurable student achievement objectives and a meaningful accountability approach.  States sought to reverse this trend by adopting standards-based education strategies, developing content standards, aligning the standards with curriculum and assessments, and instituting system accountability measures.

The strategy made sense and promised early results.  It seemed poised for success; however, it is now clear that state education systems are struggling in their efforts to close achievement gaps and improve student achievement results.  An in-depth analysis revealed that a root problem was responsible for the impediment.  It found that, while states have instituted viable accountability measures, their attempts to adequately define measurable student achievement objectives have fallen short. 

To remedy the problem, states must better define and communicate what student need to learn for proficiency.  Content standards need to be defined as precise knowledge and skills specifications, which are sequential and in perfect alignment with transparent student performance expectations. They need to become teachable and measurable.          

The Aligned·By·Design Model provides state education leaders a viable, user-friendly solution for the systemic and inter-related problems limiting the effectiveness of our standards-based systems.  Its incremental, continuous improvement approach puts state-defined student achievement objectives back on track and keeps them there. 

The Model integrates an innovative new class of real-time information technology with the proven quality system architecture, unified communications and a powerful optimized process data model.  The system was developed specifically for education’s unique processes and management structure.  It assists and encourages state leaders to:

• Refine, contain and communicate content standards as coherent, knowledge-linked, fine-grained and teachable specifications    

• Develop complete, perfectly aligned instructional curriculum models and disseminate them as usable materials to school districts and teachers  

• Perfectly link the content-rich instructional curriculum in precise and durable alignment to state assessments

• Leave no doubt or question in the minds of teachers, parents and schools as to what needs to be sequentially learned as students pass through school to graduation or exactly what is going to be assessed by end-of-year tests    

• Make well-informed, cost-effective decisions enabled by high-quality, real-time district, school, classroom and student-specific data and analysis reports

• Incrementally and continuously update content standards with on-line collaboration features and explicit tracking of changes from one version to another  

• Reduce operating costs and better manage state resources while meeting student achievement goals and closing achievement gaps

The Aligned·By·Design solution meets the systemic and aligned instructional requirements states have for effective standards-based systems and student achievement improvement.  The system facilitates the natural alignment of standards, curriculum and assessments and brings that alignment to the classroom. 

Related Pages

• Back to Education Community Benefits

• Teacher Benefits

• District and School Leader Benefits

• Parent and Student Benefits

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To learn more about how the Aligned·By·Design Model supports state education leaders and enables improved schools and student achievement, please contact us.