The impact of the Arizona Academic Standards on teachers' instructional practices in rural school districts in southern Arizona

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the impact the Arizona Academic Standards have had on teachers' beliefs about their instructional practices. Data were collected using two surveys. The Arizona Academic Standards Program Survey was adapted from one used in Massachusetts (Hanley, 2000), and teachers were asked to provide information about their understanding of how to teach the curriculum standards. The second survey used, The Nature of School Leadership Survey (Leithwood and Jantzi, 1995), examined the relationship between the eight school leadership influences and the impact they had on teachers' instructional practices. As a result of this study, evidence was found that teachers' beliefs about the quality of the Arizona Academic Standards have impacted their instructional practices in teaching the Arizona Academic Standards in their classrooms. These data also indicated that teachers' beliefs about the quality of the Arizona Academic Standards in the two rural school districts have been influenced by professional development opportunities and school leadership.