Rothman, Chapter 1

I am going to continue the discussion (even if with myself) of Chapter 1.  I read something quite interesting this morning concerning "The Effects of Standards" starting on page 17.  We have been moving towards standards in this country since the 90s.  According to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), we have seen higher scores for 4th and 8th grade students in Math since the 1990s.  The greatest increases in math scores occurred in states that had developed standards.  However, reading scores did not improve for 8th grade or 12th grade students during the same time frame with the same states developing reading standards.  Hmmm...

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) both evaluated the standards, and found that regardless of the quality of standards, gains were made in math.  There seemed to be no clear relationship between quality of standards and improvements in scores.  Was NAEP the best way to grade quality of standards?  Are standards part of a "leaky bucket" that dissipates long before testing?

James Spillane from Northwestern University of School and Education and Social Policy found that while standards-based reform was designed to make major changes in instructional practice, it was the varied ways in which teachers interpreted the standards that caused for so many variations in scores.  The result was that standards-based reform actually did very little to change student achievement.  Does this mean standards-based instruction is an ineffective method of school reform? Hmmm...

Spillane found several factors that affected how standards-based reform was implemented.  For example, in Michigan here are some factors that greatly affected their implementation for standards-based reform: (1) a political dispute between the governor and state board of education; (2) state testing systems; (3) vague standards documents; (4) poorly written assessments that did not accurately measure standards; and (5) finally (my greatest pet peeve of all) teachers relied on state assessments, rather than standards, to guide instruction (i.e. teaching the test).  As Rothman so accurately wrote, "it's little wonder the standards had limited influence on student achievement."

So... How will Common Core be any different? Well, that depends on the efforts we make as educators to correct the problems we have encountered with the current system.

Your thoughts?  Don't make me keep talking to myself here!  Speak your mind! I certainly speak mine.

Sarah