Narrative: a.

WVDE formally adopted the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education in 2012. Anticipating the adoption of the Common Core, WVAdultEd began work on a standards–based model in 2011. Rollout of the standards for WVAdultEd across the state was in 2012 with sustained professional development continuing in 2013 and 2014. State Leadership funds have paid for the professional development.

The overarching vision for WV Adult Education standards–based education was grounded in three crucial interlocking elements: the standards themselves, teaching to the standards, and accountability. Each of these elements is essential to the success of standards–based education, and “no one element can stand alone without the other two for stability and support.”

This relationship is often referred to as the “three legged stool”. (U. S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education, 2009) The starting point and first leg of standards–based education is the standards themselves, which offer measurable objectives on which instructors can base their curricula. “Clear standards allow educators to understand where to direct their energies and give shape to the program as a whole.” The successful implementation of the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education was driven first and foremost by this need; by understanding the standards fully themselves, instructional staff would be better able to make them clear and explicit for students. The structure of the WVAdultEd professional development encouraged instructors to address standards as part of a learning community. The materials and methods used by the teacher academy and in regional trainings unified learning–by–doing with finding the best ways to implement standards. Besides increasing instructors’ understanding and ownership of the standards, these innovations resulted in a series of standards–based products that illuminated the standards further for instructors who were wrestling with ways to align their classroom instruction and assessments with standards.

The second leg of the stool, teaching to the standards, was the basis for the professional development designed to guide teachers in the process of using the standards to create curriculum and lessons. Teachers attended professional development where they created fully articulated lesson plans; designed classroom activities integrating research–based instructional practices; created engaging student–centered assignments, and created a range of formative and summative assessments; all explicitly designed to transfer the content of the standards to students. Implementation of these materials into instructional practice provided teachers with the tools to determine whether students were absorbing the essential skills and knowledge that standards–based education aims to impart.

The third and final leg of the stool is accountability. WV Adult Education believes it is essential that instructional staff and programs hold themselves accountable for the implementation of the standards–based instruction and student outcomes. As part of our grant application process in 2015, programs will be required to document how they have implemented the standards–based instructional model show evidence of improved student outcomes and measures according to the standards and, outline innovative solutions when performance falls short of the mark. In addition, we are extending the work of the academy by asking regional coordinators and master teachers to observe classrooms—from conducting lessons to giving assessments—to identify the predominant standards–based teaching practices evident in practice and to target areas for improvement. When findings from visits to classrooms within the program are analyzed, a clear picture of standards–based instruction emerges allowing state leadership to address the professional development needs of instructional staff more effectively—potentially by moving full circle back through one or more of the professional development offerings or by offering one–on–one coaching and mentoring provided by master teachers.