Based upon the input from over 150 schools working with the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), the following recurrent principles and themes emerged as critical for ensuring MSPAP success:

	Understanding MSPAP All members of the school staff must be able to modify their approach to curriculum, instruction, and assessment based upon an understanding of MSPAP, including ongoing attention to using performance-based instructional and assessment tasks, training students to meet testing requirements, and incorporating related instructional changes.
	Teaching Thinking Many successful schools emphasize teaching students key cognitive skills within and across grade levels. Many staffs emphasized the eight thinking skills articulated in the Dimensions of Learning program: comparison, classification, induction, deduction, analysis of errors, abstracting/pattern recognition, analysis of perspectives, and constructing support.
	Inviting Learning Schools demonstrating consistent MSPAP success appeared to emphasize the reinforcement of a positive school culture and atmosphere for learning; most sites used cooperative learning and conflict resolution techniques. There is also an emerging need to accommodate the unique needs and strengths of Special Education and ESOL students.
	Setting Targets Successful schools used a clear core curriculum consistent with both MSPAP outcomes and PGCPS Scope and Sequence expectancies and indicators; a great deal of emphasis was placed upon integrated and interdisciplinary instruction designed to help students make connections across discipline areas and to apply what they were learning in real-world ways and contexts.
	Supporting Communication Essential communication skills were an ongoing part of all disciplines in schools experiencing MSPAP success. Additionally, intra- and inter-site communication was a clear and significant commitment in successful sites. Open exchanges of ideas were evident. These schools were in the process of becoming genuine learning organizations.
	Reading and Writing for All All teachers in successful MSPAP school sites modeled reading and writing strategies and processes. In effect, critical and analytical reading was a fundamental part of all teachers' repertoires, not just reading and English instructors. There was also evidence of teachers' tailoring the writing process to the unique needs and parameters of their disciplines.
	Planning Together Successful MSPAP sites demonstrate the power of group planning and collaborative decision making. All facets of MSPAP preparation appeared to involve the active and ongoing use of study groups, action research processes, and peer coaching experiences. MSPAP was also a fundamental and recurrent emphasis in successful school improvement plans.
	Testing Effectiveness Effective MSPAP sites had a productive test preparation program. Strategic decisions guided short- and long-range instructional practices, including active use of quarterly performance-based instructional and assessment tasks consistent with core curriculum expectancies and indicators. Practice for MSPAP-like assessments was an organic part of overall instruction.
	Encouraging Involvement Parents and community are especially important for MSPAP success. In a majority of successful sites, there was frequent and ongoing presence of parent outreach, training, and involvement, including clear commitment to ensuring that parents and community members understand both MSPAP task design and the instructional implications of the program.
	Working Together Successful MSPAP sites promoted ongoing collaboration with central office personnel and other schools within their feeder pattern, making full use of available resources rather than functioning as “islands unto themselves.” A major conclusion was that MSPAP preparation is "everyone's job," not just teachers in the 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades.

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