On March 10, a group of educators gathered to propose a set of national academic standards, outlining yearly benchmarks in K-12 English and math education. The draft proposal outlines concepts to be learned, rather than specific curriculum to be taught.
This proposal has its roots in national educational reform programs such as No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and other federal-level standardizing efforts.
The Obama administration has supported such efforts by awarding points to states in the Race to the Top program, provided that the states participate in drafting and adopting the new standards.
A policy of nationwide standards, as opposed to the policy of current individualized state standards, would eliminate the disparities between states and has the potential to create a strong and concrete link in American education.
It is preposterous to test and compare students at a national level with tests such as the SATs when individual state standards are vastly different.
New standards naturally breed new tests, which is justifiable cause for concern.
The last thing most educators want to see is a system that forces their curriculum into more tightly confined parameters.
However, curriculum standards can work effectively in conjunction with standardized tests that have been reformed in similarly radical ways. If new curriculum standards force tests to be redeveloped, educators should seize the opportunity to revolutionize testing, creating standardized exams that adequately assess the important features of a reformed curriculum.
That said, this board strongly cautions closely tying funding to testing and national standards.
While it is necessary to hold teachers accountable for what they teach, imposing standards that are too rigid will box teachers into a limiting pedagogy that will ultimately degrade the teaching profession.
Setting standards without the appropriate follow-through will not help schools meet the multiplicity of shortcomings they currently face: lack of funding, neighborhood school segregation, limited college access and a vast achievement gap.
Therefore, while this board believes that implementing a set of national academic standards is a step in the right direction, standards-based education provides largely misguided and ineffectual incentives for school reform.
Educators and policymakers should continue to reform the existing system, as well as adopt new strategies such as this, if they wish to gradually improve our nation’s struggling school system.
Though standards can be limiting in upward growth, they are necessary to ensure a basement performance level nationwide.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board.