Three years ago I was summoned to our principal's office at the Margaret S. Douglas School, in Brooklyn, New York, to receive a new title: staff developer for the "New Standards." Suddenly, I was responsible for a comprehensive implementation of New York State's content standards in my seventh-grade language arts and social studies classes. Over a period of two and a half weeks, my students were to become familiar with the standards; generate a rubric, or scoring guide, based on them; and prepare standards-driven book reports — all in time to supply the principal with samples for the National Conference on Standards in San Diego, California.

What Is Excellence?

When I began my career, I did not truly understand how I could teach my students to produce suitable written responses, such as book reports, to literature. Frequently, students failed to read the books. A lack of connection between the literature and their lives prevailed, spelling errors were common, and their lives prevailed, spelling errors were common, and instances of plagiarism sometimes rose.

However, when I received training in the standards through my school district, I realized there was a way to monitor reading and writing on different levels. Peer review, I learned, could guide students to hold one another accountable for the basics: comprehension, grammar, spelling, and more. Then I could step in and assess the core content of their work, such as their ability to analyze the text, make inferences, and draw conclusions.

To get my seventh graders thinking about standards-based learning, I asked them to explain, for example, what elements make a pizza "the best." What characterizes an inferior pizza? What about a pizza that is just OK? Students responded that a superior pizza has "lots of cheese," "generous toppings," and a "flavorful crust." A pizza not up to par, they reasoned, would have thin, watery tomato sauce on a cardboardlike crust. I challenged them to organize the criteria into four categories from best to worst: Exemplary = 4, Standard Setting = 3, Approaching Standard = 2, and Below Standard = 1. Under each category, youngsters would list such specific criteria as "lots of cheese" or "thin, watery tomato sauce."

Next, I randomly divided my class of 30 into five groups of six and asked each group to create its own rubric for assessing a book report. I encouraged the children to think independently and listen to each member's input. I handed out sample rubrics to guide them. In addition, I decided to share a model of excellence with my students. To inspire them, I handed out copies of a letter written by a seventh-grade student to author Cynthia Voigt, responding to her novel Homecoming (Fawcett, 1987). Children were amazed that someone their age was capable of such a well-written and thoughtful response. I asked the class: "Is this standard-setting work? Or is it exemplary?" Students agreed that it was exemplary. Now, I explained, they had a standard by which to judge other work. As a result, my class began to understand how a rubric is used.

Students Are Empowered

Over several days of discussion, student groups honed their own rubrics. The finished rubrics were to show that:

• The students read the book;
• There was no plagiarism;
• The students had followed the conventions of spelling, grammar, and punctuation;
• The standards were met.

With input from each group, we were ready to design a class rubric to use as an assessment tool — and put it to the test. With the criteria of this rubric in mind, each pupil wrote and submitted a book report. I photocopied and distributed the reports, with names removed, to the various groups. Each peer reviewer was to make notes on a copy of the rubric and sign his or her name, then staple it to the photocopied book report. Children greatly enjoyed the responsibility, remarking that they "felt like teachers."

It was time for students to revise their reports, based upon their peers' comments and suggestions. The majority volunteered to read aloud their final revisions, showing the class that they had made the required changes and were capable of standard-setting and exemplary work.

After generating and using their own standards-based rubrics, all of my students were able to produce work that was either exemplary, standard-setting, or approaching the standards. Their communications skills sharpened, and they became experts at constructive criticism. With their empowerment came the freedom for me to work one-on-one with youngsters who needed extra help in developing their own writing proficiency.

How has the standards training I received affected my work? In many ways, it has altered my role. As my students assess one another's work, discuss standards, and work diligently to meet them, I have the pleasure of observing them in action. I am there to guide them, but they know it is ultimately their responsibility to meet the high goals they have set for themselves.

Cynthia Harris-Frederick is currently a sixth-grade teacher at P.S. 56, the Louis Latimer School, in Brooklyn, New York.

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