Without standards, or with weak standards, we have no reliable way to measure success. What exactly does Spady want kids to learn anyway? The response to our criteria has been overwhelmingly positive. Standards are an essential component of education because: 1. Rather, standards inform educators about what the outcomes of a course of study should be. Standards are guideposts for schools. It was our way of trying to help bring clarity to conversations and activities taking place across the country. In their zeal to devalue academic content, Spady and the other respondents have become thorns in the side of the standards movement. Some students only get good grades if they master challenging material; others get good grades and promotions no matter what they do. Some states and communities are now looking to adopt these or similar criteria before actually developing their standards. In recent years, there has been an ongoing debate in education circles about the value of having a national set of standards that all schools throughout the country would use. In fact, Costa and Liebmann go as far as to say that the traditional academic disciplines have outlived their usefulness and should be discarded. Does this mean that everyone agrees with everything we say? We want all kids to have access to a rich and challenging curriculum, and we want to support and motivate them all to achieve at high levels. Why is the AFT so supportive of the standards movement? Clear, measurable standards will finally give us a way to tell whether or not the various programs people are touting actually work.
With clear, common standards in place, teachers ought to know what their incoming students have learned, regardless of where they are coming from. The more people think about and discuss the functions standards are meant to serve, the easier it becomes to determine what good standards should look like. However, ESSA still requires that schools and districts are held accountable for student performance, and states must have established standards to assess student achievement in reaching college and career readiness goals. Just look at the damage “outcome-based education” has done, and how long it is taking to repair those wounds. By promoting content-free and, in some cases, nonacademic education under the “standards” label, they are largely to blame for the anxiety many people feel about standards-based reform. We also emphasized the value in looking seriously into what other countries expect of their kids. We need to get tougher about academic content, not back away from it. Whatever they do in subsequent years, whatever their future roles and challenges, their ability to think critically and creatively, and to build on prior knowledge, will be much enhanced by a strong liberal arts education. Terms of Use | Florida Disclosure Statement. Spady's claim that our call for rigorous academic standards is simply an effort to keep things as they are in the schools is preposterous. Yes! We think common, rigorous standards can help us turn that around. States and districts that took the advice of people like Spady and developed “outcomes” dealing with students' “life roles” and attitudes instead of core academic content have been overwhelmed with public opposition. But only if those standards are clear and specific enough to lead to a common core curriculum for all students. 1703 North Beauregard St.
From Professional Learning Board’s online continuing education course for teachers: Integrating Standards in Teaching . Some students only get good grades if they master challenging material; others get good grades and promotions no matter what they do. Although poor and minority students have made gains, there is still a big difference — commonly called “the achievement gap” — between what these students have achieved when compared to their more affluent and white peers. National standards are created by a variety of national organizations. Some states use them as guidelines for creating their own state standards or simply adopt them as their state standards. Matthew Gandal is a Senior Associate in the Educational Issues Department of the American Federation of Teachers, 555 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001. We'd like to see what “transdisciplinary” content looks like and how it will enable students to face “challenging contexts” and engage in “authentic” performances. 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. We also think clear standards would help alleviate the frustrations associated with student mobility. When choosing a digital curriculum, it’s important to consider standards when making your selection. 1215 Fourth Ave., Suite 1500 Some children get exposed to rigorous courses; others don't. Alexandria, VA 22311-1714, September 1995 | Volume 53 | Number 1
Supporters of the law say that it has caused schools to pay significant attention to the lowest achieving students and to raising the bar for all students. And professional development and teacher education should be guided by what we want students to learn. Educational Leadership
We've seen standards that focus on such skills as “critical thinking” and “problem solving” in the absence of any subject matter. There's also a practical issue. Their reasoning, however, isn't always easy to follow: “When students learn individual parts of content [separate disciplines], they inevitably lose sight of the beauty, interconnectedness, and spirituality in the world.”. Students who have been exposed to the learnings of these disciplines, and to the ways of knowing that are intrinsic to them, will have a rich foundation of knowledge and flexible, creative minds when they leave school. What’s The Connection Between Standards and The No Child Left Behind Law? Teachers, administrators, policymakers, business leaders, and parents across the country have told us that they need more information like this to make sense of what's going on in their state, district, or school. Overall, more learning will take place and students will be better prepared for college and careers without the need for remediation. By matching what is taught in the classroom to the standards in each subject area, students (and their parents and teachers) will know what teachers should be teaching, what students should be learning and what they will be tested on. This created a system where some states have tougher standards than others. Sign me up for updates relevant to my child's grade. And though he's skillful at distancing himself from these episodes, Spady should take these events to heart. While the role of standards in education has shifted over time, the stakes surrounding standards remain high — and will continue to remain high in the future. The standards are embodied in the curriculum and measured by exams that “count.” Their students learn more than ours not because they're smarter, but because they are exposed to rigorous content, and they are expected to master it. What William Spady calls “educentric” standards are clear, rigorous principles based on the disciplines, which will help us prepare students for any direction they pursue after school. Test scores, for the most part, are improving and students are learning. Last fall, the American Federation of Teachers developed a set of criteria for thinking about standards for student achievement. There’s a common misunderstanding surrounding standards. In high-achieving countries whose students consistently outperform ours, there are clear expectations based solidly in the academic disciplines.