ABSTRACT
The sentiment is that educational standards can make clear what students are expected to learn and be able to do at various grade levels and cumulatively across grades, supported by instruction. Subsequently, performance on annual tests based on standards would show concomitant improvement in students' achievement. The suggested path toward making learning more meaningful for Latino students while helping them show evidence of mastering academic standards is not an easy one. It is hard for anyone concerned with improving the education of Latino and other students of color who underperform in classrooms to argue against the value of skills advocated by academic standards as desirable goals for student learning. Consider, for example, the CCSS stipulation of English Language Arts (ELA) and Literacy Standards. In particular, the chapter discussed how becoming an effective learner is coupled with participation in a local community of learners that introduces and reinforces social identities of learners as participants and transformers of the world around them.
