Oh the Essential Standard. Aren't they ALL essential? Well, sure, but the reality is we won't be able to teach all of the standards effectively if we try to. So what's a teacher to do? There's a solution to this and it's REAL. According to curriculum guru Larry Ainsworth, essential standards are "Standards that you are guaranteeing ALL students will know and be able to do at the end of the year. These are the standards you will write your common formative assessments around." On your own, or in your PLC/PLT, use
this checklist to help you filter out the essential standards.