The Essentials for Standards-Driven Classrooms ― A Practical Instructional Model for Every Student to Achieve Rigor

To reach true academic rigor, learners need high levels of both cognitive complexity and student autonomy. Moving them in this direction, however, requires teachers to become skilled at using research-based strategies to make the critical instructional shifts that deepen student learning. The Essentials for Achieving Rigor model of instruction and corresponding series of books were developed to help teachers provide that caliber of truly rigorous instruction. This guide, developed by authors of the Essentials series, brings it all together. Carla Moore, Michael D. Toth, and Robert J. Marzano provide valuable tips and guidance to help teachers leverage essential strategies to: • Conduct standards-based planning and instruction • Establish conditions for learning and criteria for success • Use formative assessment data to make decisions • Practice strategies in a unified system of instruction Each book in the Essentials series details one of 13 research-based strategies that facilitate the delivery of rigorous, standards-based teaching. This guide supplements that work, providing a big-picture view of the Essentials model’s components, purposes, and practical use in the classroom. Complete with templates for performance scales, student evidence, and lesson details, it empowers educators and leaders to transform their schools into thriving, sustainable communities of practice.

An experienced professional developer, literacy coach, teacher, and administrator, Carla Moore, MSEd, oversees product and content development for Learning Sciences International, with a special emphasis on teacher and administrator effectiveness. She is nationally recognized for her commitment to K–12 education. In her current role as a thought leader at Learning Sciences International, she is coauthor with Dr. Robert J. Marzano of Creating & Using Learning Targets & Performance Scales: How Teachers Make Better Instructional Decisions, and a number of research papers.Michael D. Toth is founder and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Learning Officer of Learning Sciences International, iObservation, and Learning Sciences Marzano Center for Teacher and Leader Evaluation. Formerly the president of the National Center for the Profession of Teaching, a university faculty member, and director of research and development grants, Mr. Toth transformed his university research and development team into a company that is focused on leadership and teacher professional growth and instructional effectiveness correlated to student achievement gains.Robert J. Marzano, PhD, is a nationally recognized education researcher, speaker, trainer, and author of more than 30 books and 150 articles on topics such as instruction, assessment, writing and implementing standards, cognition, effective leadership, and school intervention. His practical translations of the most current research and theory into classroom strategies are widely practiced internationally by both teachers and administrators.