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Along with formative assessment, Essential Learning Statements or Essential Learning Standards seems to be the newest buzzword for administrators and educators. But just because it is current or trendy does not necessarily mean that it is a negative aspect. One positive result of all of the newest focus on assessment-based practices is that I've become a better teacher because I've had to step back and really look at my curriculum. I'm not talking about the one that my school system has handed down. No, I'm talking about the one published by my state department of education that clearly states what will be tested this year. I've become something of a State Performance Indicator guru.

Essential Learning Statements are just what they sound like: simple sentences in kid-friendly terms that state clearly what the student is learning that day. Tennessee State Performance Indicator 0701.1.1 states "identify the correct use of nouns (i.e. proper/common, singular/plural, possessive, direct/indirect objects, predicate) and pronouns (i.e. agreement, reflexive, interrogative, demonstrative) within context.

Now that is really a mouthful. Any student of mine would not easily understand that;  plus, it contains way too many skills to be covered in one learning session. So I have to turn it into an essential learning statement: I can identify proper and common nouns. 

In that statement, I've narrowed the learning down to a manageable chunk and put it in kid-friendly terms. When my students leave my classroom they can say "I learned to identify common and proper nouns." It also gives me an opportunity for direct assessment whether formative or summative.

When I do my teacher reflection, I can look back and ask myself the question, "Did my students identify proper and common nouns?" I can decide if I need to reteach, move on, or move on for some and reteach for others. 

Essential Learning Statements are there to help us define what the student is learning. It shifts the responsibility from the teacher (What am I teaching them today?) to the student (What did you learn today?). They also make it easier to plan your weekly or unit assessments. It almost like planning backwards.

The teacher can easily post the learning statement on the board or screen for students to copy or refer back to when ready to conclude lesson. It is a great opportunity for students to do their own learning reflection at the end of the lesson. This would make for a great weekly checking system~students could use it as their study guide for the week. 

Buzzwords and trendy strategies are always coming to the surface in education~some are worthwhile and some need to go back to their bottomless pit in that murky sea of questionable practices. I think that the notion of Essential Learning Statements is one that I can live with, and one that my students will benefit from in the long run.