Fort Worth students in a dozen schools are taking the reference exams, assembling portfolios of exemplary work, and generally using the standards to guide their learning. Throughout the district, standards are posted on classroom walls. Instruc-tional activities are fewer but more strategically designed. After-school homework clinics are providing students with additional help. As a result, students better understand their work, what it lacks and where it's going.
Standards help students, but they also put responsibility squarely on their shoulders.
They should be taught to aim for success, and we need a system that can deliver it. This kind of practical experience in places such as Fort Worth, New York, Chicago and Vermont is strengthening the National Center's portfolio of standards-based instructional tools. Looking Ahead Realizing the vision of standards-driven instruction will dominate the next phase of the National Center's work on New Standards, says Daro. The National Center also will continue working with HBEM to provide reference exams for grades four, eight and 10, as well as adaptations for other grade levels. With support from the National Science Foundation, the National Center is developing a reference exam for science.