A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

APPLICATION NO      :    R168A30039 APPLICANT           :    Alaska Department of Education                          801 West 10th Street, Suite 200                          Juneau, Alaska  99801-1894 CONTACT PERSON	    :    Nancy Spear TELEPHONE	    :    (907) 465-8718 AWARD TO DATE       :    $752,685 PROJECT PERIOD      :    08/01/93-0/31/96 

The Alaska 2000 Committee, State Board of Education, Commissioner of Education, and Governors are committed to the development of Alaskan standards for education and an assessment program to measure these standards, and a partnership of private and public sector organizations is building a plan for systemic change in mathematics and science education in Alaska. This project allows Alaska's commitment to systemic reform to be expressed in curriculum frameworks that encompass science and mathematics curricula, instructional strategies, assessment practices, and the school environment necessary to support desired student outcomes.

Part of the framework is an implementation package of resources for school districts to guide their own definition of student outcomes, instruction, and assessment planning. A statewide assessment will measure the ultimate success of the project.

A multi-pronged staff development program will support the frameworks. The substance of the frameworks will be integrated into the existing mathematics and science staff development programs in the state through revision of their summer institutes and will reach graduates of these efforts through special advanced institutes. Distance delivery and correspondence courses focused on the frameworks will be designed for district curriculum development teams.

The final step in this reform effort will be the revision of certification and recertification criteria and the development of teacher education guidelines that mirror the instruction and assessment strategies described in the frameworks. Following guidelines development, an implementation plan for pilot campuses will be designed.

All of these efforts will be led by a policy-setting Standards and Assessment Oversight Committee. The specific recommendations for mathematics and science will be made by content area committees appointed by the Commissioner of Education from among representatives of school districts, universities, and business. A classroom teacher and school district administrator will co-chair each content committee.

[Alaska 2000: English/Language...]

[The Arizona Framework for Content...]