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myON is a supplemental online product that supports cross-curricular reading instruction in grades K-12. Content is formatted as a digital library of authentic texts organized by theme and reading level. Most texts are non-fiction and informational. The library is searchable by keyword and a variety of filters, including standards. Resources enable independent student reading and group instruction using interactive whiteboards. Learning List conducted and editorial review for myON’s K-12 library. We did not conduct an alignment review because myON is a library focused on developing students' reading skills; it does not teach state standards. < Read=">Read" me... ="me..."> myON is a digital library designed to meet the needs of students at every reading level. Students begin their work in myON by indicating their interests (e.g., sports, science) and whether they prefer texts in English and/or Spanish. Students then take an adaptive placement assessment that measures their reading level. After the assessment, the program automatically recommends books that match the student’s reading level and interest areas. Students may search books by keyword, browse by topic (e.g., “Scary & Gross”), and save their selections to a reading list. myON provides Spanish-language texts for grades K-9. Many texts at grades K-2 are bilingual and present content in both English and Spanish. myON contains a “News” feature that provides age-appropriate reports of current events (e.g., the Supreme Court starts its new session). Reports include a mapping tool that locates where events occur (e.g., Washington, DC) and relevant information about the location, such as the language spoken, the distance to the location, and fun facts (e.g., “Workers completed the Supreme Court building in 1935.”). About myON* myON is designed to provide a student centered, personalized literacy environment that offers unlimited access to thousands of enhanced digital books, dynamically matched to each individual learner’s interests and Lexile reading level, along with a suite of literacy tools that foster engagement and achievement. *Information in this section is provided by or adapted from myON . Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources.

Learning List has reviewed both of the comprehensive products submitted for state-adoption in response to Texas’ Proclamation 2018 for “Special Topics in Social Studies” courses. These products include: Kendall Hunt’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) Toolkit.  The course emphasizes the experiences of Mexican Americans in Texas, particularly in the Houston area, and focuses heavily on how racism and bias have influenced Mexican American lives. Instruction addresses contemporary issues affecting Mexican Americans (e.g., Arizona’s 2012 ban on ethnic studies). Discussion prompts and collaborative learning activities are interspersed throughout the text. Content is available in print and eBook formats. Tanglewood Publishing’s Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz. Instruction focuses on using a memoir of the Holocaust as the basis for a book study that explores themes related to perseverance, love, and forgiveness. Although the text deals with disturbing subject matter, it does so in a manner that is appropriate for young adults. The memoir eschews gruesome detail and emphasizes the themes of perseverance through unimaginable hardship, commitment to family, and, ultimately, the importance of forgiveness. Content is available in print format and includes an Educator’s Guide. < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> About the Publishers* Kendall Hunt Publishing Since 1994, Kendall Hunt Publishing Company has been a stand-alone company and the only part of the original William C. Brown Publishing Company to remain under the ownership of the Brown family. With more than 6,000 titles in print we serve both the higher education and PreK-12 markets and offer traditional and non-traditional publishing solutions in both markets. The mission of Kendall Hunt is to be a dynamic provider of quality educational products and services. The company strives to meet the specific needs of the marketplace in a unique and progressive manner, and is committed to excellence and employee growth and development. Tanglewood Publishing The legendary editor, Ursula Nordstrom, said she published “good books for bad children.” Rather than books oriented toward adult mores, she looked for books with authentic characters whose speech and spirit and experiences reflected the real world and issues of young readers. Tanglewood Publishing strives to do the same. With a focus on inspiring readers to pick up a book for the pleasure of reading, Tanglewood’s list features titles with strong sales and critical acclaim, often by authors and illustrators who may have been overlooked by others. Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources.

Learning List has reviewed UTeach Computer Science (CS) Principles. This comprehensive product supports instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science Principles courses. Content is available in a web-based format and may be downloaded as a PDF. Instruction is project-based and emphasizes collaborative learning activities that develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Student materials are available at no cost. < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> UTeach CS Principles is organized in learning progressions that provide the context for and the application of computer science concepts. Units are grouped in terms of “Core,” “Application,” and “Exhibition” learning activities.  Core units cover computational thinking, programming, and data representation. Application is made up of three units that address digital media processing, big data, and innovative technologies. Exhibition is a single unit that contains the College Board’s “Explore” and “Create” performance tasks for AP Computer Science Principles. Teachers are advised to participate in UTeach professional development prior to teaching with CS Principles materials. Training is offered in a five-day summer workshop or in a six-week online course. Professional development addresses the course, its materials, and UTeach’s approach to project-based learning. Training covers the College Board’s requirements for AP Computer Science Principles About UTeach* For two decades, the  UTeach  pre-service teacher preparation program at The University of Texas at Austin has prepared large numbers of STEM majors to enter (and stay) in secondary classrooms. And since 2007, the  UTeach Institute  has recruited and supported almost 50 universities across the U.S. to establish their own UTeach programs. With support from the National Science Foundation, the UTeach Computer Science program leverages the expertise and partnerships its developed to scale UTeach CS Principles through the College Board’s  AP Computer Science Principles  program. About 300 teachers are teaching the curriculum across the U.S. in 2016–2017! *Information in this section is provided by or adapted from UTeach . Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources.

As the school year shifts into high gear, we are getting a lot of questions about our service. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions. What is Learning List? Learning List is a subscription-based instructional materials review  service designed to  help improve student learning by empowering educators to  choose and  use  instructional materials most effectively. We created  Learning List  in 2013 to help districts become better informed consumers of instructional materials. Initially, districts used our reviews to facilitate their  selection  of materials. Over time, subscribers began telling us that our reviews also helped them identify the best parts of their  existing  materials to use to teach each standard. As one instructional coach explained, "We use your alignment reports as a GPS through our materials to ensure that we're using the pages that teach each standard fully." What types of materials do you review? We have reviewed over 2500 of the most widely used instructional materials, including: Materials in the four core subjects, 12 Advanced Placement courses, Tech Apps and 85 CTE courses; Comprehensive  and  supplemental materials, including RtI,  test prep , criterion-referenced  test  banks, and professional development resources; Publisher produced  and free  open educational resources (OERs); State-adopted  and  non-adopted materials (i.e., materials that were not submitted for state adoption); and English  and  Spanish versions of materials. Subscribing districts get access to all published reviews and may  request reviews  of additional materials  as part of the subscription . That's why Learning List is a  service , not just a website. What type(s) of reviews does Learning List provide? For each material, we provide the three  professional  reviews described below. We also allow educators in subscribing districts to rate and review the materials they have used. Spec Sheet*  - a two-page overview of the product’s key  academic attributes  and technology compatibility . As part of this review, we test the material's compatibility with commonly used  devices, browsers and operating systems. Editorial Review  - a description of the material's instructional content and design using a researched-based protocol that includes approximately 200 criteria. Alignment Report  - an independent verification of the material's alignment to  each  grade level standard. Caveat : Out of respect for the state adoption process in Texas, Learning List does not review the  alignment  of state-adopted materials to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). For Texas state-adopted materials, we publish the state's alignment report and alignment *The Spec Sheet review was initiated in mid-2016. Products reviewed  prior  to 2106 have a Spec Sheet only if the publisher allowed Learning List to access the material to develop that review.

Learning List has reviewed Glynlyon’s Odysseyware Texas middle school products for mathematics and English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR). Both products are Texas Editions that were developed to address the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Both math and ELAR products are comprehensive resources that cover a full year’s content. < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> Middle school math instruction provides the foundation for the study of algebra. Across grades, courses address problem solving, number theory, proportional reasoning, statistics, and the relationship between numeric, algebraic, and geometric concepts. ELAR courses develop close reading, critical thinking, writing, speaking, and listening skills.  Instruction centers on high-quality literary and informational texts that span a variety of genres (e.g., short story, biography). Students encounter increasingly complex texts as instruction progresses in each grade level. Writing instruction focuses on argumentative, narrative, and expository essays and creative works, such as poetry. At grades 7 and 8, instruction is theme-based. Grade 7 addresses themes related to earth, space, and survival. Instruction at grade 8 uses historical themes (e.g., world civilizations) to structure content. About Odysseyware* Odysseyware takes the question of where students can learn out of the equation. With its fully HTML5 course library, students can learn anywhere, anytime, on any device, via a powerful Learning Management System delivering hundreds of multimedia-based courses. Students have access to CTE, Advanced Placement®, core and elective options, all aligned to national and state standards. They also have access to powerful supports including translations in 23 languages, vocabulary and reference libraries, text-to-speech, and immediate coaching for writing skills via the Writer Tool. *Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Odysseyware . Subscribe to  Learning List for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources. Learning List's reviews not only inform selection decisions, they facilitate curriculum mapping and instructional alignment, as well.

The increased emphasis on ensuring that all students are able to read and understand complex texts has prompted  MetaMetrics , the developer of the widely used  Lexile Framework  for text complexity, to extend the Lexile scale to enable more precise measurement of text complexity in grades  K-2. In the past, the Framework identified texts with Lexile levels below zero (i.e., 0L) simply as Beginning Reader and included a “BR” code  without  an associated Lexile level. With the extension of the scale, BR texts will now include a numeric Lexile value after the BR code. For example, BR100L represents a Lexile level of -100L and BR300L represents -300L. < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> The Lexile scale itself has not changed. It has only been extended to include measures of text complexity below zero, with larger BR values indicating lower reading levels. Educators may want to use the analogy of a thermometer to help them understand Lexile measures below zero. A text at the BR300L level is written at lower level than a text at BR100L, much as a temperature of -30 is colder than a temperature of -10.The use of the BR code ensures that no text is ever associated with a negative number.

Learning List has reviewed Glynlyon’s Odysseyware products for mathematics and English language arts (ELA) for grades 3-5. Although neither product was created to address the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) specifically, Learning List has conducted TEKS alignment verifications for each product at each grade level. Mathematics 300, 400, and 500 and Language Arts 300, 400, and 500 are year-long courses for students in grades 3, 4, and 5, respectively. < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> Across grades, mathematics instruction focuses on developing number skills, numerical literacy, and concepts in geometry. ELA courses develop close reading skills in conjunction with writing, speaking, and listening skills. Each course begins with a “Course Overview” that provides an introduction to content and a list of additional materials (e.g., protractor, “Fantastic Mr. Fox”). Both the math and ELA materials are fully customizable; teachers may reorder, add, and delete content. Some units include projects that require students to apply what they have learned (e.g., use patterns to determine the next term in a sequence, write a fable). Projects are completed online using Odysseyware’s “Writer” word processing tool. About Odysseyware* Odysseyware takes the question of where students can learn out of the equation. With its fully HTML5 course library, students can learn anywhere, anytime, on any device, via a powerful Learning Management System delivering hundreds of multimedia-based courses. Students have access to CTE, Advanced Placement®, core and elective options, all aligned to national and state standards. They also have access to powerful supports including translations in 23 languages, vocabulary and reference libraries, text-to-speech, and immediate coaching for writing skills via the Writer Tool. *Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Odysseyware . Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources.

Over the last five years, we have learned a lot about instructional materials. One observation is that comprehensive and supplemental materials, including RtI and test prep resources, are designed very differently and are intended for different purposes. Another observation is that unless you use a material for its intended purpose, it is unlikely you will achieve the result you need. What are test prep materials? Publishers design test prep products to help students to improve their performance on standardized tests. Generally, test prep products help students prepare for standardized assessments by providing practice tests and related content that reflects exam questions in form and substance. How well aligned are test prep materials to state standards? As referenced in their correlation documents, some test prep publishers attempt to  address *  all  grade level standards. Many publishers attempt to address only the standards that are  eligible for assessment  in the particular grade level and subject. Still other test prep products focus solely on a  subset  of the grade level standards (e.g., the content standards). Regardless of which standards the material attempts to address, test prep materials rarely address those standards in their its  entirety.   Rather, the products often address only the part of the standard the publisher believes is  likely to be assessed  on the standardized test.  Moreover, test prep resources are not always  aligned  to each standard they attempt to address. For all of these reasons, we find that test prep materials are often not aligned to 100% of the grade level standards. For example, we have reviewed four test prep materials for 8th grade science. The image shows what we found the products' alignment percentages to be. But, the alignment percentages alone do not describe which resource would be best for your students. We found the 67% aligned material to have multiple  aligned citations for every standard the publisher addressed (i.e., all the  content  standards). The only reason that product's alignment percentage was not higher is because the material did not address any of the 8th grade process standards. In contrast, the remaining three test prep products addressed both content and process standards. However, none of those materials was  aligned  to all of the standards they addressed, and none had consistently as many aligned citations for each standard as the 67% aligned material. Learning List's alignment reports shows you which standards each material is/is not aligned to and how many citations we found to be aligned to each standard. What should you look for when selecting test prep materials?  For the reasons articulated above, when assessing the value of a test prep material, look  beyond the alignment percentage.  Determine which standards  the product is aligned to and whether there are  a sufficient number of aligned citations  (i.e., test questions) for each standard  at the appropriate level of rigor  to provide your students with the practice they need to prepare them for the standardized test. Test prep products vary widely in the amount of support they provide to prepare students for exams. Some simply offer practice tests that familiarize students with the format of the exam. Others provide guidance in taking notes, studying, and test-taking strategies, as well as day-of-test behaviors that support improved performance (e.g., eat a good breakfast). These resources aim to help reduce students’ test-related anxiety and improve their scores. Many  online  test prep materials provide immediate, corrective feedback and direct students to the specific content they have not yet mastered.Test prep materials also differ in the supports they provide for teachers. While some materials limit teacher resources to test overviews and answer keys, others provide rubrics and online tools that enable teachers to see patterns in class and individual student performance. These tools help teachers identify and reteach the content that students have not mastered and group students for targeted intervention. In sum, to find the test prep material that best meets your students' needs, you must  look beyond the alignment percentage  to see which product is aligned to the standards students are struggling with, which will provide sufficient practice and support for your students, and which includes the instructional resources and monitoring tools your teachers need. Once you have selected a test prep product, be sure you use it to prepare students only for the standards the material is aligned to. *The standards that a material "addresses" are those listed in the publisher's correlation (i.e., the standards the publisher believes the product covers). A material is only deemed to be " aligned " to a standard if the material teaches/assesses the content, context and cognitive rigor of the standard (i.e., all of the knowledge and skills the standard requires students to learn).

Learning List has reviewed several of Odysseyware’s high school English language arts products, including English I, English II, English III, and English IV and the “Fundamentals” version of each course (e.g. English I Fundamentals). Each product supports year-long instruction in self-paced and credit-recovery programs and blended learning environments.  < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> English I (Texas Edition) covers the short story, literary non-fiction, epic poetry, drama, the novel, and poetry, as well as grammar and writing skills. English II (Texas Edition) is organized in thematic units (e.g., “Coming of Age) that integrate instruction in literary genres (e.g., the novel, poetry), literary non-fiction, grammar, and writing skills. English III (Texas Edition) is organized in chronological units that address themes related to the development of American literature (e.g., “American Romanticism”). Units integrate instruction in literary genres (e.g., the novel, poetry), literary non-fiction, grammar, and writing skills. English IV (Texas Edition) is organized in chronological units that address themes related to the development of Western world literature (e.g., “The Individual and Society”). Units integrate instruction in literary genres (e.g., the novel, poetry), literary non-fiction, grammar, and writing skills. The Fundamentals version of each course focus on reading comprehension and composition skills, grammar and usage, literature studies (e.g., drama, poetry), speaking and listening skills, and special topics, such as internet research. Fundamentals courses were not created to address the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). About Odysseyware* Odysseyware takes the question of where students can learn out of the equation. With its fully HTML5 course library, students can learn anywhere, anytime, on any device, via a powerful Learning Management System delivering hundreds of multimedia-based courses. Students have access to CTE, Advanced Placement®, core and elective options, all aligned to national and state standards. They also have access to powerful supports including translations in 23 languages, vocabulary and reference libraries, text-to-speech, and immediate coaching for writing skills via the Writer Tool. *Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Odysseyware . Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources.

Learning List has reviewed Pacific Learning’s CSI Literacy for grades 7 and 8. CSI Literacy is supplemental product that supports literacy development in grades 3-8. Content is available in print and online formats and includes digital resources (i.e., USB drives). Instruction emphasizes the development of close reading skills and the comprehension of complex texts. Resources support instruction in blended learning environments.< Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> At grades 7 and 8, CSI Literacy presents content in five introductory lessons and 40 text-based lessons organized in terms of English language arts (24 lessons), social studies (8 lessons), and science (8 lessons). For each subject area, content is presented in a separate “Cooperative Learning Activities” student text and an associated teacher “Lesson Plan Book.” Text-based lessons begin by clarifying the purpose of instruction (e.g., determine important ideas) and organize learning activities in four sections: Prior to reading, Interacting with the text, Reflecting on the text, and a Writing activity. Each Cooperative Learning Activities book has a glossary and a list of reading comprehension strategies. A “Student Reflection Journal” contains guidance in using and combining close reading strategies. About Pacific Learning* Pacific Learning has been a dedicated provider of PreK–8+ literacy solutions since 1999. Pacific Learning’s supplemental resources are research-based and designed to increase instructional excellence and student achievement. Pacific Learning supports the needs of school and district administrators, literacy coaches, and teachers. They understand that needs vary from school to school and from student to student. So they treat each customer as an individual and work closely to understand and support the different needs. Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Pacific Learning . Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources.

Learning List has reviewed Heinemann’s Units of Study in Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing for grades 6-8.  We have previously reviewed Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing for grades K-5. Both products are supplemental writing programs made up of a set of print resources for teachers with additional materials available on CD-ROM.  Based on the work of Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University, Units of Study incorporates a workshop approach to teaching writing skills that focuses on Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing. < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> At each grade level, content is organized in 6-week units that include argument/opinion, information, and narrative writing, as well as an additional unit (e.g., memoir). Additional, shorter units are provided in a separate book, titled “If…Then…Curriculum: Assessment-Based Instruction.”  Each unit is organized in “Bends” (i.e., bend in the road). For example, the grade 5 unit for research-based argument essays is made up of three Bends: (1) Establishing and Supporting Positions, (2) Building Powerful Arguments, and (3) Writing for Real-Life Purposes and Audiences. Bends are made up of sets of lessons, or “Sessions,” that follow a consistent format across grades K-5. CD-ROMs for each grade level contain additional resources to support each unit (e.g., photographs), printable checklists and handouts for students, and video samples of student work. Daily writing workshops last 50-60 minutes and foster the development of higher level thinking skills (e.g., synthesis, analysis). Content is organized sequentially within and across grades and learning progressions are provided. Accompanying sets of trade books for each grade level are available from the publisher. Units of Study uses a system of performance-based assessments to evaluate students’ writing skills.  The “Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions” text provides teachers with comprehensive guidance in implementing the system, as well as writing prompts and rubrics to support assessment. About Heinemann* Heinemann is a publisher of professional resources and a provider of educational services for teachers, kindergarten through college. Heinemann strives to give voice to those who share our respect for the professionalism and compassion of teachers and who support teachers’ efforts to help children become literate, empathetic, knowledgeable citizens. Heinemann’s authors are exemplary educators eager to support the practice of other teachers through books, videos, workshops, online courses, and most recently through explicit teaching materials. *Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Heinemann . Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and alignment reports for these materials and thousands of other widely used PreK-12 resources.

This is Part Two of a post in response to the recent report Leadership Perspectives on Public Education: The Gallup 2017 Survey of K-12 School District Superintendents .  As discussed in our first post , the superintendents who participated in the Gallup 2017 Survey identified teacher quality as the most important element in student success, but noted the difficulty in hiring talented teachers. In particular, superintendents said that the quantity and quality of new teachers is decreasing and that districts need to become more effective in training teaching staff. In Part One of this post, we explored how districts can use the resources embedded in instructional materials to support teacher professional development. In this post, we examine how the tools on LearningList.com can facilitate training by enhancing teachers’ understanding of state standards and how standards shape day-to-day instruction. Learning List features a detailed alignment report for each product we review.  The alignment reports reflect our independent verification of the alignment of citations listed in the publisher’s correlation. In order for Learning List to consider a citation to be aligned to the standard, the citation must address the content, context, and cognitive demand specified in the standard. < Read=">Read" more... ="more..."> Learning List’s alignment reports verify the material’s alignment to the component elements of the standards, where relevant. On the TEKS alignment report presented below, readers can see that the Standard is broken into “Student Expectations” that are further divided into “Breakouts.” In order for Learning List’s reviewers to consider a publisher’s citation aligned to a given TEKS, it must be aligned to the full set of Student Expectations for the standard and the full set of Breakouts for each Student Expectation in the standard.  Thus, each of Learning List’s alignment reports essentially “unpack” each grade-level standard into its component pieces, making it easier for teachers to see the structure of standards, including the focus of learning goals and the sequence of content within and across grade levels. Learning List’s alignment reports also help teachers recognize when and how the instructional content of materials may fall short of what the standards require. If Learning List reviews a publisher’s citation and finds it not to be aligned to the standard, a “Reviewer’s Comment” clarifies why the citation is not aligned to that standard. These Comments can spur important conversations among teachers about what is missing in the material and how instruction should be modified to ensure the standard is fully covered. In these ways, Learning List’s alignment reports provide ongoing support and professional development.  As teachers gain a better understanding of standards, they become more aware of how daily instruction should address what students are expected to know and be able to do in order to be prepared for subsequent content in the next the grade level.   Learning List’s alignment reports also help teachers understand how best to prepare students for standardized tests, particularly in Texas. In the case of the TEKS, alignment reports identify whether each standard is a “Readiness Standard,” a “Supporting Standard,” or a “Process Standard” to help teachers prioritize instruction in preparation for testing. Alignment reports for tested grades and subjects in Texas contain links to released STAAR questions from the previous four years. The test question links make it easy for teachers to see how the student expectations have been tested over multiple years, which deepens their understanding of how students are expected to demonstrate their learning. The released STAAR questions also help teachers develop question stems for common assessments and quizzes. Understanding of learning standards and the student outcomes they define is fundamental to good teaching. As districts play a greater role in professional development, it will be important that they ensure all teachers understand how their content area is shaped by the applicable learning standards. Learning List’s alignment reports are tools that districts may use to show teachers how standards set learning goals and how these goals shape instruction. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how Learning List can help you choose and use materials effectively for  instruction.