Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are content- and grade/course-specific learning goals that educators can use to measure what students learn over a period of time. In many states and districts, SLOs are incorporated into educator evaluations and used to measure teachers’ contributions to student growth. SLOs promote a cycle of planning, teaching, reflecting and adjusting, but they also take a considerable amount of skill, resources and time to be implemented with quality and rigor.
We created this toolkit under contract as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Reform Support Network (RSN) to provide state and district leaders with information and resources needed to address these implementation challenges. The toolkit is divided into five sections: 1) Provide tools for developing, approving and scoring quality SLOs; 2) Foster selection of quality assessments and rigorous targets; 3) Communicate with teachers and principals; 4) Train district staff and school administrators; and 5) Ensure continuous improvement. Each section contains templates, guidance document and other artifacts from the field that states and districts can adapt for their own purposes. We created this toolkit with significant support and input from the state leaders who participated in the RSN’s SLO Work Group.
