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Districts Get New Title I Flexibility: Learning List Can Help

January 26, 2015

Recently, Texas Commissioner of Education, Michael Williams advised districts: Texas school districts are no longer required to set aside 20 percent of their Title I federal dollars to provide Supplemental Educational Services (SES) for students at low-performing campuses. A district is now free to use those funds on academic intervention programs it deems most effective for its students. Learning List’s detailed alignment reports help districts easily identify supplemental products that will meet their students’ academic needs.

4 Ways Learning List Helps Publishers Strengthen Their Products

January 15, 2015

Students are more likely to do well on state assessments if their instructional materials help them learn what the state requires them to know and be able to do after taking the course. Publishers regularly tell us that going through our review process has helped them strengthen their materials in a variety of ways: 1) Creating correlations for more …

“A Resource Review Service By and For Educators™” – Meet Learning List’s Reviewers

October 16, 2014

Learning List is a “resource review service by and for educators™.” We recognize that our reviews are only as good as the educators we hire to do the reviews. We are often asked, “Who are your reviewers?” The bios of our Leadership Team members and of our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are available on the Our Team page of our website.

Weird Al’s “Instructional Material”

August 4, 2014

People often ask what is the definition of “instructional material.” Though we’ve adopted an expansive definition of “instructional material, ” you won’t find this video reviewed on LearningList.com even though it is one of the more popular lessons about grammar with over 14 million views. However, we thought we’d just share it to ease your transition back into the school year.

Publishers: Meet Learning List (Part 3)

July 18, 2014

Over the past few weeks, we have been working our way through a series of 15 questions that are most commonly asked of Learning List by those who develop and deliver content. After sharing Part 1 and Part 2, this final installment will address the remaining questions.

Before Buying Instructional Materials, What Would You Ask?

July 17, 2014

In the July 15th issue of Education Week, there was a tech-related article about personalized learning titled: “Before Buying Technology, Asking ‘Why?’ ” The same can be asked about the K12 instructional materials selection process. Before you purchase anything, ask “Why?” Why is your proposed selection the best choice? We seek your reply to: What Key Question(s) Do You (the Educator) Ask Before Purchasing Instructional Materials?

Aligning to Standards? How to Align to the Verb

July 9, 2014

Learning List has reviewed hundreds of K-12 instructional materials. What we’ve learned is that no two materials are alike. Learning List verifies that instructional material is aligned to the content, context and cognitive demand of each standard. One of the most challenging aspects of an alignment analysis is to determine whether the material aligns to the verb of the standard to grade-appropriate level of rigor.

To Be or Not to Be: Are Publishers Aligned to Standards?

June 28, 2014

Today, Learning List released market insights drawn from hundreds of alignment verifications we have completed. Although Learning List reviews both comprehensive and supplemental instructional materials, this analysis only included materials that publishers claimed to be aligned to 100% of the relevant standards. Learning List’s Subject Matter Experts (experienced educators) found that, on average, those materials were aligned to: 87% of Common Core …

Teachers Credit Positive Classroom Culture to Bridges in Mathematics

June 19, 2014

The Math Learning Center recently released the second edition of Bridges in Mathematics for grades K-5, and Learning List has just reviewed the new set of products. Bridges is a comprehensive, inquiry-based program that creates a cooperative community of learners in the elementary mathematics classroom by blending teacher-led instruction, structured investigation, and open exploration of math concepts. The Bridges …

May Texas School Districts Use Instructional Materials Aligned to the Common Core Standards?

June 18, 2014

Today, the Texas Attorney General issued the much-anticipated opinion GA 1067, addressing “Use of the Common Core State Standards Initiative by Texas school districts to teach state standards.” We were among the sources asked whether the AG’s opinion prohibits Texas school districts from purchasing instructional materials aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The Austin American-Statesman has a brief article …

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