Problems of Practice

One of the difficulties in achieving standards-based instruction is overcoming the considerable variability in practices across classrooms. Standards documents that might support instructional coherence remain unused. Teachers too rarely consider student work in terms of standards, and storage of and access to student work can be an obstacle. When students do not understand what the standards mean for their schoolwork, standards-based instruction is further compromised.

Schools lack common and coordinated of instruction across classrooms
Schools often lack a common, coherent and coordinated instructional framework that helps guide instruction. Further, it can be difficult for schools to establish such a framework because teachers habitually work in isolation and seldom work with other teachers across subject areas and grades (Lortie, 1975).

Teachers do not have adequate support for evidence-based instructional decision making
Typically, teachers do not have immediate access to information about student work organized by school standards and indexed to benchmarks. If saved at all, work artifacts are normally stored in multiple locations. Further, artifacts are rarely assessed on standards. Without detailed information about students' progress on standards, teachers are unable to make the instructional decisions needed to advance student learning. Moreover, individual and groups of teachers are unable to review if their instruction is geared to the standards and to revise the curriculum accordingly.

Students do not have ample opportunities for self-reflection and self-assessment
One of the challenges that teachers face is getting students to think of their work in terms of a set of goals and standards (Black and William, 2004). Students lack an understanding of the reflection and revision process as it relates to self-assessment. As a result, students do not focus on mastering what they are expected to learn, but rather on the final outcome, such as a grade.