Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Chapter 10 Supplemental Materials/What is the Standards Movement (ex. NCLB)? 1
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[edit] WHAT IS THE STANDARDS MOVEMENT?
by Maria Deibert
[edit] Sidebar
"Wanted Immediately: A Sober diligent Schoolmaster capable of teaching READING, WRITING, ARITHMETICK, and the Latin TONGUE... Any Person qualified as above, and well recommended, will be put into immediate Possession of the School, on applying to the Minister of Charles Parish, York County." -- The Virginia Gazette, August 20, 1772 (PBS link) <http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/timeline.html> (September 17, 2006)
The National Standards movement seeks to raise the quality of the American educational system. According to one of its chief architects, Diane Ravitch (2000), national standards give clear expectations for students, teachers, parents, colleges, and employers that will result in improved student achievement. Forty-nine of the fifty states (except Iowa) have implemented such standards. In many cases, they have raised scores of standardized tests. In Virginia, for example, scores on standardized tests have increased dramatically (Virginia Department of Education 2004). But what, ultimately, does this mean? Some states use only one standardized test. For example, in Virginia, it is the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL). This particular test is used because (1) it is cheap, (2) it is easy to read, and (3) it is simple to grade. The test is also extremely objective, leaving no room for graders' opinions and differences of viewpoints. Although multiple-choice standardized tests claim to measure every level of learning, they really only test knowledge recall. And educators, use these multiple-choice "bubble" tests to convince themselves that students truly "understand" what they are taught, as evidenced by a passing test score (Berube).
The national standards movement arose from the struggle for equal educational opportunities in American public education. Beginning with the seemingly simple task of defining an adequate education in student content standards, reform graduated to setting professional requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals and for professional inservice training. Overcoming the racial and economic inequities embedded in the structure of public schools has resulted in shifting the focus of control and funding from local school systems to states. Federal involvement in standards-based reform has, in some cases, pushed states even further to include once-excluded disabled and limited-English proficient students and to set achievement targets in reading and mathematics. Standards-based reform has brought some coherence to education at the elementary and middle school grades. Systemic reform really hasn't taken hold at the high school level (McClure).
[edit] The Standards Movement Timeline
The Standards Movement began with the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983 the modern education standards movement was underway in the United States and continues to the present. The report was prompted by the Secretary of Education. The Secretary of Education stated, "We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament."
In the past twenty years, K-12 public education has been in a state of continuous revision to address the concerns raised in A Nation at Risk, highlighted in 2000 with the revision of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), then renamed No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
Academic standards describe what students should know and be able to do in the core academic subjects at each grade level. Content standards describe basic agreement about the body of education knowledge that all students should know. Performance standards describe what level of performance is good enough for students to be described as advanced, proficient, below basic, or by some other performance level.
States have worked throughout the past decade to put academic standards into place. As of 2001, 49 states and the District of Columbia-all but Iowa-have at least some academic standards. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have academic standards in all core subjects-mathematics, English/language arts, science, and social studies (Sonoma Education).
A Nation at Risk developed a set of five major recommendations to address the issues raised in the report:
- Content – Strengthen graduation requirements and curriculum content. - Standards and Expectations – Adopt more rigorous and measurable standards and higher expectations. - Time – Devote significantly more time to instruction including longer school day and school year. - Teaching – Improve the preparation of teachers and make the profession more rewarding and respected. - Leadership and Fiscal Support – Citizens hold educators and elected officials responsible for leadership to achieve the reforms and provide fiscal support and stability that is necessary (Edweek).
1989 National Education Summit: President George H. Bush and the nation’s governors held a national Education Summit conference establishing six broad goals to address the issues raised in A Nation at Risk. Their report was titled The National Education Goals Report: Building a Nation of learners and once again emphasized the development of standards for student performance.
1990 The SCANS Report: The Secretary of Labor issued the SCANS Report (Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) recommending the skills young people need to succeed in the world of work. The SCANS report built upon and extended many of the concepts set forth in A Nation at Risk.
1993 National Council on Education Standards and Testing: The National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST) was established at the urging of Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander to begin the development of bi-partisan national standards and testing for K-12 education. The effort to develop national consensus standards was ultimately unsuccessful.
1994 Goals 2000: President Clinton signed the Goals 2000 the Educate America Act, creating a special council to certify national and state content and performance standards, opportunity-to-learn standards, and state assessments.
1996 National Education Summit A National Education Summit is held bringing together the governors of more than 40 states as well as national business leaders to support efforts to establish clear academic standards and subject matter content at the state and local levels.
1999 National Education Summit A National Education Summit including governors, educators, and business leaders identified challenges facing U.S. schools in three areas; improving educator quality, helping all students reach high standards, and strengthening accountability. Agreement is reached to specify how each of their states will deal with the challenges.
2000 No Child Left Behind Act The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is revised and signed into law by President George W. Bush. Renamed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the legislation call for extensive implementation of state educational standards addressing national criteria tied to federal funding (A nation at risk).
[edit] Experienced Educator Blog on the Standards Movement
This is a random BLOG from the internet from Charlie's dad... As a ten-year veteran of the Chicago Public Schools, I have observed the rise of the standards movement. My tenure in the Chicago Public Schools has been spent at one of the largest schools in the city. I have spent this time in the classroom as an English teacher and as an instructional coordinator responsible for professional development in reading, standards based instruction, and test preparation. It is my contention that the standards movement has destroyed rich multicultural curriculum possibilities. While writing this piece, I came across the following definition in the Oxford English Dictionary:
Standard: b. (Originally, standard of commerce.) A commodity, the value of which is treated as invariable, in order that it may serve as a measure of value for all other commodities (1989 Oxford Dictionary).
From this definition it is clear that standards formalize knowledge, and therein endorse specific types of knowledge. This endorsement of specific forms of knowledge is problematic in its creation of an exclusionary hierarchy of knowledge that engenders numerous questions akin to whose standards, whose knowledge? However, it is important to note, that standards by definition curtail inquiry. After all, how can one argue with something that is “invariable”? All of this is troubling, but what is more insidious is how the standards are measured and the effect this has on the school curriculum and day-to-day instruction. What emerges is a triangle of standards, accountability, and test preparation that overpower school-based curriculum and instruction.
Standards are measured through standardized tests. The logic is straightforward—if a teacher knows how a standard is assessed then they will figure out how to teach to that standard.
If teachers teach to the test, and they do, then the curriculum shrinks, and with it the possibility of rich multicultural education (BLOG).
[edit] Famous High School Dropouts
The following Americans have prospered without completing a high school education. You might say that they are a product of their own "Standards Movement".
Jim Clark........self-made billionaire American businessman; founder of "Netscape"; first Internet billionaire (17, U.S. Navy)
Cher......Oscar-winning actress-singer
Patrick Henry.......American Revolutionary War era politician; Virginia's first governor; famous quote: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" (little formal education; home schooling/life experience; later studied on his own and earned a law degree)
Whoopie Goldberg....Oscar-winning actress-comedienne
Rosa Parks.........U.S. civil rights activist-pioneer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient
Tommy Lasorda...... baseball team manager; National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
Charles E. Culpeper....self-made multimillionaire American businessman; early 1900s' owner and head of "The Coca Cola Bottling Company"
Marcus Loew........self-made multimillionaire American businessman; early Hollywood pioneer; founder of the "Loews" movie-theater chain; co-founder of "MGM" studios (elementary school dropout)
Mary Lyon.........American women's education pioneer; early American teacher; founder of Mount Holyoke College (America's first women's college)(Lists)
In conclusion, you the reader have been given bits of information from the Standards Movement advocates and experts. The history of the Standards Movement has been presented. An educator teaching in the school system has given his opinion of the Standards Movement. How can you, the reader, explain the fact that the above high school dropouts, succeeded in life and did not complete an equivalent standard of education that is being imposed on educators and students today?
[edit] Sources
PBS. " Want AD." <http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/timeline.html> (September 17, 2006)
Berube, Clair T. (2004). Journal Article; Opinion Papers v77 n6 p264 Jul-Aug 2004 Are Standards Preventing Good Teaching? (EJ705447)[Electronic Version]. Retrieved September 17, 2006, from http://www.eric.ed.gov
McClure, Phyllis (2005). Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive v44 n1 p4-10 Win 2005 Theory into Practice Where Standards Come From (EJ724992) [Electronic version] Retrieved September 17, 2006 from http://www.eric.ed.gov
Sonoma Education. <http://www.sonoma.edu/users/p/phelan/423/standards.html> (September 17, 2006)
Education Week on the Web Updated: January 24, 2003 <http://www.edweek.org/context/topics/issuespage.cfm?id=55> (September 18, 2006)
A Nation at Risk. <http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk> (September 18, 2006)
BLOG. <http://whilecharliesleeps.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-standards-and-test-prep-shrink.html> (September 22, 2006)
Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989 (ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner), Additions 1993-7 (ed. John Simpson and Edmund Weiner; Michael Proffitt), and 3rd ed. (in progress) Mar. 2000-(ed. John Simpson). OED Online. Oxford University Press. http:// dictionary.oed.com (September 22, 2006)
Lists. <http://www.education-reform.net/dropouts2_text.htm> (September 20, 2006)
[edit] Quiz Questions and Answers
1. Heather lives in the state of Iowa. Her state has not adopted any
A. foster children B. highways to clean up C. Scans Reports D. national standards of learning
2. Johnny is being described as advanced in his arithmetic skills. This is an example of
A. a content standard B. a national standard C. a performance standard D. a learning standard
3. Colin has the basic knowledge that all fifth graders should know about science. Colin possesses a _________ standard in science.
A. Content B. Academic C. Performance D. Movement
4. In 1994, President Clinton signed the Goals 2000, which included the
A. The Scans Report B. National Standards for testing C. Educate America Act D. No Teacher Left Behind Act
5. Tommy Lasorda, Whoppie Goldberg, Patrick Henry and Cher have all
A. Dropped out of high school B. Voted against the Educate America Act C. Drafted a portion of the 1994 Goals 2000 D. Participated in the 1996 National Education Summit
ESSAY: Is the Standards Movement preventing creativity in teachers and students?
ANSWERS:
1. D
2. C
3. A
4. C
5. A
