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Higher Standards For Curriculums
The need for higher standards in education is a historical national issue. In 1983 the
National Commission on Excellence in Education reported that the nation was at risk. It
acknowledged that the status the U.S. once had as an undeniable world leader in commerce,
industry, science, and technology had diminished dur to the rise of competitors throughout the
world (1983). The U.S. government increased education funding. Programs such as Head Start
developed. Students were encouraged to go to take up trades, funding for higher education was
also made available to assist students to attend college that did not have the financial means to.
The status of the nation as a global competitor still did not improve. This caused stakeholders
from the highest level to really look at the schools in America. More demands were placed on
curriculum developers, district and school administrators, and of course the teachers. Reforms
such as No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Act have been implemented to
promote student outcomes. With these reforms came Common Core Standards.
These standards outline what knowledge and skills students should have according to
their content grade level. Performance standards assess the level at which the students have
achieved mastery of the content standards. Current curriculums have incorporated cross-cutting
themes and interdisciplinary themes in core subjects supported by the Partnership for 21st
Century Skills (Chu et. al., 2021, 8). The demand for higher standards in education is meant to
foster “learning and innovation skills consist of creativity and innovation, critical thinking and
problem solving, and communication and collaboration” (Parkay et. al, 2014, p. 307).
Standards-based education stems from the idea that all students are capable of meeting a
specified criteria. Based on this premise, goals are established that students must meet. In doing
so the standard of education is raised in its entirety. President Obama made mention of higher
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standards in education in his 2011 State of the Union Address, he underlined the significance of
academic achievement and higher standards for all students. This demonstrates the continued
investment of the nation to raise academic standards to increase American students’
competitiveness globally. State education departments, school districts, and local schools were
charged with collaborating to rewrite curriculums with higher standards. Generally, students are
assessed using standardized testing methods which allow for easily attainable measurable data
that can be used to evaluate the overall performance of each school and compare it to other
schools throughout the nation and the world.
In this author’s opinion, there remains a tremendous gap between the standards set by the
state and the academic achievement of the students that she teaches. According to the state of
Georgia, only 13.3 % of middle school students are proficient in science. What is even more
alarming is that only 7.79% of African American students are proficient and 1.95 % are
distinguished in science (2023). This is troubling because African American students make up
61.1% of the student body (2023). It makes this author question students are performing so
poorly and not meeting the standards that have been designed to improve academic achievement.
A major concern that has been voiced by students, parents and teachers is that the platform that is
used to access students does not align with the curriculum. The language of one far exceeds the
other. Students have difficulty reading the test questions and are unclear of what is being asked
of them. Let’s also consider that only 13.96% of African American students scored proficient in
ELA. Meaning that most of the students do not read at grade level (2023). The conundrum of
issues that students are dealing with, and teachers are expected to help them overcome, is
astonishing. This author does not think lower standards is necessarily the answer. She does think,
however, that there are systemic issues that are unrelated to what happens in the classroom that
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deeply impact the outcomes of the classroom. These issues need to be addressed. Issues such as
poverty, poor housing, violence, abuse, etc. The concern is if the most effective way to address
the issues that stem from outside of the classroom is by student performance in the classroom
will they ever be remedied. What this author does know is that every day she will continue to go
into her classroom prepared and ready to teach students and continue the work that she has been
charged with.
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References
Chu, S. K. W., et. al. (2021). 21st century skills development through inquiry-based learning
from theory to practice. Springer International Publishing.
Gadoe. (2023). College and career ready performance index (CCRPI) reports. GADOE CCRPI
Reporting System. https://ccrpi.gadoe.org/Reports/Views/Shared/_Layout.html
Parkay, F. W., Anctil, E. J., & Hass, G. (2014). Curriculum leadership: Readings for developing
quality educational programs (10th ed.). Prentice Hall.
The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National
Center for Education Statistics). National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home
Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. (2023).
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372
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