Keyword: Curriculum and Instruction

CALE is a critical needs sensing and research-to-policy initiative that is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that conducts on research on California policy priorities, particularly curriculum and instructional systems, teacher preparation, and post-secondary pathways.

CALE researchers will post reports and briefs to share timely and relevant insights from ongoing research work.

This report provides insight into the Performance Task Development Project (PTDP), a partnership between the Building Educator Assessment Literacy (at WestEd) and the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), and its work with the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). PTDP focused on hands-on workshops that provided LACOE teachers with opportunities to deepen understanding of academic standards, developing standards-aligned assessment tools, and incorporating performance assessments as part of a continuous improvement cycle.

This report focuses on this work at Rowland Schools, through interviews and classroom observations, to learn more about teachers’ experiences in PTDP, the impact of participating in PTDP, and potential next steps.

As part of efforts to inform California education leaders about key policy topics impacting California schooling, California Analysis for Learning and Engagement has developed a series of research briefs to share pertinent research analysis.

In this brief, Reino Makkonen and Joy Lewis draw on existing research, survey results, and key California support resources to identify key characteristics of effective professional learning systems. This brief also identifies resources that school leaders and educators can use in developing or restructuring professional learning systems.