Empowering Teachers and Students
HISD Power Objectives
Welcome!
Tracy Weeden, Ed.D.
Kelly Trlica, Ed.D.
Assistant Superintendent
Assistant Superintendent
Elementary Curriculum,
Secondary Curriculum,
Instruction, & Assessment
Instruction, & Assessment
HISD Curriculum – How did we get here?
• Project CLEAR
Introduced standards-based district-wide curriculum
• CLEAR Online
Introduced new vehicle for disseminating curriculum
• PASS
Student data disaggregation tool
• Snapshots
District-wide benchmarks
• Model Lessons
Curriculum resources based on CLEAR curriculum
HISD Curriculum – How did we get here?
• New CLEAR Online Interface
 New curriculum documents
 Vertical Alignment Matrix
 TEKS/TAKS Correlations
 Horizontal Alignment Planning
Guides
• Revised Documents
• Power Objectives Initiative
HISD Curriculum – Where are we going?
Instructional
Management System
Power Objectives: A Definition
• The term “Power Standards” was
coined by Dr. Douglas Reeves.
• Because HISD refers to knowledge
and skills that a student must acquire
as “objectives,” we have modified
Reeves’ term to “Power Objectives.”
Power Objectives
HISD Power Objectives are a subset of
the complete list of HISD objectives
(based on the TEKS/SEs) for each
grade and for each subject.
Power Objectives
“ …are those objectives that, once
mastered, give a student the ability to
use reasoning and thinking skills to
learn and understand other
curriculum objectives.”
--Dr. Douglas Reeves
The Rationale for Power Objectives
Teachers and curriculum
specialists agree there are
too many objectives
to cover in the amount of time
available to teachers!
According to the experts…
• Robert Marzano calculated that
there are 3,500 benchmarks spread
across 14 different content areas.
• To teach all the objectives in all the
content areas, he remarked, “You
would have to change schooling
from K – 12 to K – 22!”
• If educators are given no strategies for
managing the volume of objectives,
they must, on their own, “pick and
choose” the ones they believe will
most benefit their students.
• This subjective selection leads to
inconsistencies as to which objectives
are emphasized and which are not.
“I’ve stopped teaching…
Now I’m just giving the
kids worksheets and
practice drills so I can at
least cover the rest of the
material they will be
tested on.”
Words of Caution
• Identifying Power Objectives
does not relieve teachers of the
responsibility for teaching all
objectives and indicators.
• It must be decided which objectives
are critical for student success, and
which other ones can be given less
emphasis.
Identifying Power Objectives
Three criteria should be used
to identify Power Objectives
1.Endurance
2.Leverage
3.Readiness
Three Criteria for Power Objectives
#1 - Endurance
Will this objective provide students
with knowledge and skills that will
be of value beyond a single test
date?
# 2 - Leverage
Will this objective provide
knowledge and skills that will be
of value in multiple disciplines?
#3 - Readiness
Will this objective provide
knowledge and skills that are
required for the next level of
learning?
A “guiding question” for determining
Power Objectives…
What must my students learn to be
successful
 in school,
 in life,
and
 on TAKS?
Remember…
• The textbook is not the curriculum.
• Stanford 10 is not the curriculum.
• TAKS is not the curriculum.
• Power Objectives are not the
curriculum.
The HISD Objectives are the curriculum.
Next Steps
• Develop recommendations for first
drafts
• Solicit feedback
• Revise drafts
• Implement power objectives
• Ongoing professional development
HISD wants YOU
to help our district identify
Power Objectives!