Panel Releases Proposal to Set US Educational Standards

[Anonymous]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/education/11educ.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

I think this is a step in the right direction. I like that the panel wasn't convened by the federal government, but was a group of educators gathered by governors and state school superintendants. They see the need to have common standards, at least in math and language arts, throughout our country. Just wish they would add social and science, but I suppose someday they will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/education/11educ.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

I think this is a step in the right direction. I like that the panel wasn't convened by the federal government, but was a group of educators gathered by governors and state school superintendants. They see the need to have common standards, at least in math and language arts, throughout our country. Just wish they would add social and science, but I suppose someday they will.

that's not going to happen any time soon! Too controversial.

[Anonymous]

their reading standards focus on reading science and social studies text, which makes alot of sense. very different from reading literature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:their reading standards focus on reading science and social studies text, which makes alot of sense. very different from reading literature.

That's great!

[Anonymous]

I have mixed views. I feel like there is too much money spent on school administrators and consultants who come up with new standards every few years, which in the end really don't change anything for the students but only serve to cause extra work for the teachers. And I don't like the idea of schools being told that they must teach certain things in certain grades - I think this takes away from the creative juices of the really good teachers. But from what I've seen so far, the standards are focusing on a lot of the right things. I don't know if that will translate to a better education for the kids that aren't getting it now.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps I didn't read all of the information but I was looking for real scope and sequence with every skill covered. If children are taught all of the skills that are appropriate for the grade level noone will have to teach to "the" test because they will be prepared for any test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have mixed views. I feel like there is too much money spent on school administrators and consultants who come up with new standards every few years, which in the end really don't change anything for the students but only serve to cause extra work for the teachers. And I don't like the idea of schools being told that they must teach certain things in certain grades - I think this takes away from the creative juices of the really good teachers. But from what I've seen so far, the standards are focusing on a lot of the right things. I don't know if that will translate to a better education for the kids that aren't getting it now.

I think most schools nowadays do have a mandatory curriculum. Teachers use their creativity to teach the kids in front of them the required curriculum. If you let each etacher decide what skills he or she thought were important to teach each year, you would run into some big problems down the line... Mrs. James thought third graders should learn mostly geometry and measurement in math, but didn't believe in teaching kids that young multiplication; Mr. Hebert thought kids SHOULD master multiplication in third grade, but didn't think they needed cursive writing. And so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps I didn't read all of the information but I was looking for real scope and sequence with every skill covered. If children are taught all of the skills that are appropriate for the grade level noone will have to teach to "the" test because they will be prepared for any test.

The draft document can be found here:

http://www.corestandards.org

Go to the left and click on View K-12 standards.