National Educational Standards (Guess what? They're already here)
I am no great fan of national educational standards, whereby a combination of Washington bureaucrats and elected officials dictate what public schools in Elko, Nevada or Jackson Hole, Wyoming teach their students. I shutter when I imagine the sort of politically correct, clap trap social studies that would be sold as "truth" to our local schools and forced into our youngsters' minds. Such matters should, as directed by the 10th amendment to the US constitution, be left up to the individual states. However, if our national government does ever venture upon that dark mine field of national standards, I hope those in charge have the common sense to realize they need not spend billions of tax payers' dollars trying create new standards out of whole cloth. Such standards not only already exist but are actually in place and working well.
President Obama has announced his desire to see Congress change the much criticized, Bush-era national education program known as No Child Left Behind. And goodness knows, it needs changing if not thrown out altogether. NCLB dictates standardized testing and state-created standards, primarily for reading and mathematics. A standardized, and annually increasing, level of student proficiency must be demonstrated by a state's students in order to receive federal funds. In this era of bankrupt state budgets, requiring action in order to receive federal money is almost the equivalent of a government mandate. Most cash-starved states would require their students to dress as circus clowns and learn Irish step dancing if it meant more federal money.
The most obvious criticism of NCLB centers on the dictate that 100 percent of students must demonstrate proficiency by 2014. Try as you might, 100 percent of students cannot be taught to tie their own shoes, much less demonstrate proficiency in math and reading and if that is the law, then (to quote Charles Dickens) "the law is a ass."
Obama's proposed changes would require schools to demonstrate "progress" on standards rather than be judged solely on "meeting" standards. However, from what I've read, these new standards would still be those created by individual states. Still, there have been recommendations that these state standards be replaced by national standards. If that should ever come about, I would advise those in power to look into using two national standards already in place: namely, the GED and the US Citizenship Test.
The General Educational Development test was designed by the American Council for Education and offers a General Equivalency Diploma to people who successfully pass a battery of five tests. Originally created to help those GIs who entered World War II military service before obtaining a high school diploma, the GED is now used primarily for non military high school drop outs, although it is used at times for other non-completers such as immigrants or home schoolers. The five tests cover writing, social sciences, science, reading and mathematics. What could be a better national standard than requiring high school graduates to demonstrate the knowledge required of a drop out to obtain a GED?
Likewise so with the US Citizenship Test. This test, administered and created by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, is a requirement for most immigrants seeking naturalized US citizenship. The test covers the basics of US history and government and would offer a fine national standard for high school graduates. Just as with the GED, surely US high school graduates should have the same knowledge of their own country that is required of immigrants seeking citizenship.
Require these two standards of graduating high schoolers and you have the makings of a sound, basic education. Supplement them with practical skills such as nutrition and healthy living, as well as much needed day to day economic skills, such as balancing a checkbook and staying out of debt, and you have a practical education. Supplement this with a healthy dose of technology, critical thinking and decision making and you have the makings of a modern education.
Finally, supplement all this with an abbreviated reading list taken from the Great Books curriculum of St. John's College and you have a fine education indeed. One that the rest of the world would envy.
President Obama has announced his desire to see Congress change the much criticized, Bush-era national education program known as No Child Left Behind. And goodness knows, it needs changing if not thrown out altogether. NCLB dictates standardized testing and state-created standards, primarily for reading and mathematics. A standardized, and annually increasing, level of student proficiency must be demonstrated by a state's students in order to receive federal funds. In this era of bankrupt state budgets, requiring action in order to receive federal money is almost the equivalent of a government mandate. Most cash-starved states would require their students to dress as circus clowns and learn Irish step dancing if it meant more federal money.
The most obvious criticism of NCLB centers on the dictate that 100 percent of students must demonstrate proficiency by 2014. Try as you might, 100 percent of students cannot be taught to tie their own shoes, much less demonstrate proficiency in math and reading and if that is the law, then (to quote Charles Dickens) "the law is a ass."
Obama's proposed changes would require schools to demonstrate "progress" on standards rather than be judged solely on "meeting" standards. However, from what I've read, these new standards would still be those created by individual states. Still, there have been recommendations that these state standards be replaced by national standards. If that should ever come about, I would advise those in power to look into using two national standards already in place: namely, the GED and the US Citizenship Test.
The General Educational Development test was designed by the American Council for Education and offers a General Equivalency Diploma to people who successfully pass a battery of five tests. Originally created to help those GIs who entered World War II military service before obtaining a high school diploma, the GED is now used primarily for non military high school drop outs, although it is used at times for other non-completers such as immigrants or home schoolers. The five tests cover writing, social sciences, science, reading and mathematics. What could be a better national standard than requiring high school graduates to demonstrate the knowledge required of a drop out to obtain a GED?
Likewise so with the US Citizenship Test. This test, administered and created by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, is a requirement for most immigrants seeking naturalized US citizenship. The test covers the basics of US history and government and would offer a fine national standard for high school graduates. Just as with the GED, surely US high school graduates should have the same knowledge of their own country that is required of immigrants seeking citizenship.
Require these two standards of graduating high schoolers and you have the makings of a sound, basic education. Supplement them with practical skills such as nutrition and healthy living, as well as much needed day to day economic skills, such as balancing a checkbook and staying out of debt, and you have a practical education. Supplement this with a healthy dose of technology, critical thinking and decision making and you have the makings of a modern education.
Finally, supplement all this with an abbreviated reading list taken from the Great Books curriculum of St. John's College and you have a fine education indeed. One that the rest of the world would envy.
posted by dlh | 7:37 AM
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