ORC Resource Types

The ORC website includes several types of resources, all designed to support standards-based education and best practices. ORC recognizes the need teachers have for locating outstanding standards-based lesson plans. Content specialists and review boards strive to find web-based lessons and units that meet the rigorous standards established by ORC as evidenced by the 15 categories of the ORC Resource Review Rubric.

ORC Resource Types:

Instructional resources  include lesson plans and units that have been peer-reviewed using the ORC rubric. Only instructional resources with ratings of best or promising practice are selected for the ORC database.

• Resources Designated Best Practice instructional resources must receive favorable peer reviews, scoring high ratings based on alignment to Ohio's academic content standards, research evidence, quality, and usability.
• Resources Designated Promising Practice instructional resources reflect widely known and generally accepted research bases, or are emerging strategies that indicate potential for becoming a best practice. These resources are aligned to Ohio's academic content standards.

Content resources provide content support for implementation of best practices and effective classroom instruction. Content resources include data sets, digital images, reference materials, tutorials, and applets.

Professional resources support professional knowledge and development of best practices and effective classroom instruction. Professional resources may include national standards, research articles, policy documents, and books published online.

Assessment resources are assessment items or tasks correlated to Ohio and national standards, often from large-scale projects such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) or the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Data about student performance are provided when available. Assessment resources also include released items from Ohio's achievement and graduation tests.

General education resources are resources that are not specific to the content areas of mathematics, science, or reading, but have been deemed appropriate for inclusion in an educational database designed to support effective educational practice.