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For this blog we have posted several informative articles that define various issues in this national educational debate. See our comments to the first blog posting and feel free to respond to any posting. Let the debate begin!
The time for national standards is now, while a culture of reform is upon us. Students must have skill sets equal to the tasks that they'll be given in the workplace of the future. I think that most educators would say that their purpose is to prepare students for the real world. I like that North Carolina's essential standards for tenth grade English reflect the realities of 21st century learners, and I like that the Race to the Top initiative acknowledges teachers as leaders. Unfortunately, all of this new information/new plan/reform goes back to testing. The articles included under this topic show that even though national standards, essential standards, and the Race top the Top plans for schools nod to 21st century learning, all the moneys that states will receive for education are still based on testing. Maybe that should be our true topic: not whether or not we should have national standards, but whether we should tie test scores to every single reform initiative we attempt to implement.
ReplyDeleteWell stated Laurel. It's interesting when you play out the nationalization of the standards. For example, if all students are taught the same curriculum across the nation, and are then assessed as being college ready, then those proficient students could be eligible to attend any univesity in the nation. This could cut down on the disparity of who gets to attend which university. The runaway costs could be reigned in and the elitism that currently exists would be abated.
ReplyDeleteAlso, after having read the Essential Standards for North Carolina I must say that I am impressed. I agree that the current Standard Course of Study is too broad and forces our students to be experts/masters of little but only well versed in surface level information as assessed on the state exams.
ReplyDeleteGood points, Tiffany! In the article entitled "National Stabdards: A New Conventional Wisdom" (1993), author Francie Alexander states, "Standards are a catalyst to systemic reform. Efforts to improve the schools have been fragmented and incoherent. Standards bring clarity and coherence to the task of increasing student achievement. A recent survey commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education reported that 40 states had used the NCTM standards to develop curriculum frameworks. Thirty-nine states reported that these curriculum frameworks would be used in the development of student assessments. Standards are providing important links among various educational reform activities, including preparation of curriculum frameworks, production and use of instructional materials, professional development activities, and development of assessments." This clearly shows that at the time of the article, many states used different standards to create assessments, but, as you point out, the uses for individual state standards would be superseded by the good of the students. The students would all be equal in preparation; therefore, they'd be equally matched for university.
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