Book excerpt: "Just what the educational doctor ordered. Written in an easy-to-understand format, this guide contains excellent explanations and valuable models, guidelines, checklists, unit designs, and lesson designs to help teachers implement standards-based education in their classrooms." —Vaughn G. Rhudy, Teacher Shady Spring High School, WV "Zagranski, Whigham, and Dardenne tame the beast of accountability for principals, teachers, and parents by articulately defining what is really expected. A real guide for demystifying the complex world of standards-based education." —Erica Ann Faginski, Principal Michael E. Smith Middle School, South Hadley, MA Transforming your curriculum into a standards-based model: What every educator needs to know! This comprehensive handbook offers a data-driven curriculum design process to help educators meet today′s standards of performance and assessment. Based on decades of hands-on experience, Richard Zagranski, William T. Whigham, and Patrice L. Dardenne provide a clear set of expectations and responsibilities for stakeholders at all three levels of the educational pyramid: teachers, teacher leaders/coordinators, and administrators. Their user-friendly approach, which both incorporates and looks beyond NCLB, shows readers how to take a standard, transform it into a performance objective, and design a corresponding assessment piece. The text includes: Standards-based guidelines and action plans Ready-to-use charts, rubrics, and templates Real-world examples and assessment methods Step-by-step instructions to ensure sustainability Chapter summaries and a glossary for easy reference Understanding Standards-Based Education leads educators through a well-defined course of curriculum revision and presents all participants with specific, need-to-know information for accomplishing mandated goals.