Insight Help Center
Academic Opportunity
Academic standards are designed to challenge students and ensure they are prepared for success in college and career. In this Insight survey domain, teachers assess the presence of rigorous academic practices in classrooms and whether school leaders have the necessary resources and knowledge to support these practices.
Recommendations
Based on our extensive experience, TNTP recommends the following as evidence-based practices for this domain:
- Adopt a rigorous academic curriculum, in which students do the majority of the thinking during lessons and all students have access to grade-appropriate assignments.
- Allow teachers to see students succeeding with more rigorous material through peer or leader modeling.
- Learn which teachers are spending the most time creating or finding lessons outside the adopted curriculum and ask why.
- Provide professional learning experiences designed to support teachers in developing standards-aligned lessons.
Resources
| Resource | Description |
| The Opportunity Myth | A report on TNTP’s national research showing that most students lack the opportunity to regularly tackle grade-appropriate assignments |
| Resources for Selecting Instructional Materials | Resources for reviewing and evaluating instructional materials to ensure rigorous grade-level content |
| Assignment Review Protocols | Protocols for assessing the quality of assignments students are asked to complete in ELA, math, science, and social studies |
| English Learners Success Form Pulse Check | A questionnaire to understand if your instructional materials and teaching practices are working for your English learners |
| Supporting English Learners in the COVID-19 Crisis | Comprehensive guide developed by the Council of the Great City Schools to help districts prepare to reopen schools with English Learners in mind |
| Good to Great Reflection Guide | A reflection protocol to keep notes on what your students achieve when they’re given the chance to try grade-appropriate assignments |
| Instructional Strategies that Push Students to Own the Thinking | A collection of strategies and resources for teachers to encourage students to do rigorous thinking |
| Adopting Strong Instructional Materials | A case study on supporting the adoption of comprehensive, standards-aligned instructional materials |