How to Determine and Use Priority Standards (Larry Ainsworth)
Cutting Through the Noise with Priority Standards
Teachers are asked to do everything — personalization, differentiation, voice and choice, standards-based instruction… but rarely is anything taken off the plate.
In this episode of the Podcast, I sit down with Larry Ainsworth, the nationwide expert on unwrapping standards, priority standards, and creating clear learning targets.
We dive into:
✨ How to identify what’s truly essential for student learning ✨ The REAL (Readiness, Endurance, Assessment, Leverage) framework
✨ Turning standards into meaningful learning targets & success criteria
✨ Supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities
✨ Why AI is a tool — not a replacement — for teacher expertise
✨ How schools that prioritize standards see real gains in student achievement.
If you’ve ever wondered, “How do I teach what’s essential when everything feels essential?” — this episode is for you.
🎧 Listen now and bring clarity back to teaching.
Essential Standards for Multilingual Learners
Music by Aylex