Nationalizing education standards
Today, a coalition of governors and state school superintendents proposed a new set of learning standards that would apply to schoolchildren nationwide. The idea is to eliminate the patchwork of state standards for English and Math. Is it a good idea?
The standards are available for public comment until April 2nd. Read them here. Here’s an example from the New York Times:
In English, for instance, they say that fifth graders should be able to explain major differences between drama and prose stories, and refer to elements of drama like casts of characters, dialogue, and stage directions when writing or speaking about specific works of dramatic literature, among other skills.
In seventh grade math, as another example, instructional time should focus on developing students’ understanding of proportional relationships, of operations with rational numbers and solving linear equations, of two- and three-dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence…
The standards aren’t dramatically different than what you’d find in most states. It’s just that they are laid out concisely and vertically, meaning each grade level builds upon the previous grade level. Here’s the main problem with the way the system works now:
Since the late 1980s, many educators and policymakers have considered the current system of state standards as a weak link in American education. Because the standards vary so widely, standardized tests keyed to them are not comparable from state to state, nor to national tests. As a result, for example, 87 percent of Tennessee students achieved scores rated as proficient or above in math on state tests in 2005, while only 21 percent scored in the proficient range on the federal math test.
Almost all states seem on board with this. Only two have decided not to participate — Texas and Alaska. The state superintendent of Texas says: “Texas has chosen to preserve its sovereign authority to determine what is appropriate for Texas children to learn in its public schools.”
As always, there are several monetary aspects to the story. President Obama has said he wants to tie federal education dollars to reading and math standards, but he says states would not have to use these standards to get their funding.
The standards will most likely prompt a ton of new business for textbook publishers and standardized test companies. The government has already opened bidding for $350 million worth of work on new tests that would reflect the national standards. We’ll be looking more at the business end of this tonight on Marketplace.
This a big deal. There are often drawbacks to standardization — think of the many criticisms of standardized testing itself. But in thinking about the education level of our current workforce vis-a-vis other countries, do you think national education standards are a step in the right direction or no?
- Mar 10, 2010 10:22 AM — Scott Jagow
- 4 comments
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Comments (4)
March 10, 2010 12:06 PM PT
Is America’s public K-12 system a mess because of poor standards, variation in standards or failure to implement good standards? The question invites us to see students as products of a defective manufacturing process that needs to have its total quality control tweaked, perhaps like coins being stamped or like bottles on an assembly line being filled, only in this case with knowledge and intellectual skills before being placed on the market.
But students are persons not widgets. By ignoring individual differences of all kinds: ability, character, family life, economic class, motivation, inherent interests and so on one size fits all education may cause more frustration and harm than good. Howard Gardner has spent his career pointing out that there are multiple intelligences that the current system does not recognize.
Neither are K-12 age persons just consumers though that is how American society preeminently values them. It should not be surprising that being valued for what one can buy rather than one’s intellectual development is a huge impediment to the purpose of the K-12 system. Their insecurity as persons undermines their intellectual development and motivation to learn as much as it fuels their motivation to consume in order to assuage that insecurity and become respected as consumers.
As Nel Noddings has pointed out, a major problem with the K-12 system and society is that kids do not feel cared for as persons. But that could be the most difficult thing of all even though it sounds simple and it would not cost anything. Whatever the faults of the K-12 system, and there are many, the K-12 system is part of society. It may be difficult for it to fully achieve its purpose without fundamental changes in society as well.
March 10, 2010 7:00 PM PT
Sounds like No Child Left Behind in different packaging.
March 11, 2010 9:32 AM PT
We raise our children in a culture of consumption and have communicated to our children that happiness is to be found in having more stuff. Education has been promoted as the way to attain more income so that you can have more stuff. This culture of consumption by way of competition has resulted in discouragement in our schools. While standards are useful, and I have no problem with national standards, they are not the answer. We have been seeking to make standards the answer for 60 years with little result. They will not deliver the solution to what troubles our schools. Students need to know that they are valued for who they are no matter what their talent. We must put our energies into building a culture where individual students are respected, basic skills are thoroughly learned but individual differences are respected. Let us commit to our children the resources needed to be certain that the appropriate education is delivered in a culture which does not threaten but seeks to find a way for the talent of each student to be fostered.
March 11, 2010 1:38 PM PT
The problem I see with this is the same problem we have we the current “health care” reform and many other federal programs - they try to one-size-fits-all everything. OSFA works for some things very well - roads, airways, defense, etc. It works terrible for things that are very individual.