Transcript Module 4 - Misericordia University

Module 4
TED 356
Curriculum in Sec. Ed.
Module 4
Explain the current official federal
and state standards, including
professional and accrediting groups
specific to certain content areas,
which govern secondary level
curriculum (i.e., what is to be
taught), including PDE’s Chapter 4,
the Pennsylvania Assessment
System.
Reading
• Read the following in the Duplass
textbook:
– Topic 3: “Standards-based Education”
• Refer to the following as needed:
– Unit 8 (Topics 41-45)
Background to
Standards-based Education
• National Commission on Excellence in
Education (1983)
– Labeled middle and high school curriculum
“the rising tide of mediocrity.”
– Concerns about literacy.
• An Educational Manifesto by the Center
for Educational Reform (1998)
– No improvement in 15 years since.
Background to
Standards-based Education
• Dissatisfaction with public school
education led to Federal Initiatives:
– Desegregation ruling, Brown v. Board of
Education (1954)
– Head Start program (1964)
– Individuals with Disabilities Act (1975)
– Latest legislation: No Child Left Behind Act
(2001)
Background to
Standards-based Education
• First curriculum standards: NCTM developed
curriculum standards for mathematics education
in 1989.
– Led to support for national goals in education
endorsed by National Governors Association.
– National Council on Education Standards and Testing
recommended national standards for subject matter
content in K-12.
• Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994,
amended with an Appropriations act in 1996):
Encouraged states to set standards.
Background to
Standards-based Education
• Other professional organizations had already
been at work at developing standards.
– Represent the best thinking by
expert panels, including teachers.
– Describe essential elements of a
basic core of subject knowledge that
all students should acquire.
– Voluntary guidelines to encourage
curriculum development to promote
higher student achievement.
– State and local curriculum
developers decide what is included.
Professional Organizations
by Discipline
• English
– National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
• Math
– National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM)
• Science
– National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
• Social Studies/Citizenship Education
– National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
Unit 8 (Topics 42-45) in the textbook describes
numerous professional organizations and
journals appropriate to your content area major.
No Child Left Behind Act (2001)
• Redefines federal role in K-12 education.
• Intended to close gap between
disadvantaged & minorities and their
peers.
No Child Left Behind Act (2001)
• Based on 4 basic principles:
– Stronger accountability for results.
– Increased flexibility and local control.
– Expanded options for parents.
– Emphasis on teaching methods that have
been proven to work.
In essence, the federal government is trying to
make education more competitive. In a
competitive environment, organizations usually
strive to improve as they compete.
NCLB: Accountability Standards
• Standards
– “Adequate yearly progress” in 5 major
ethnic categories, students with low
socioeconomic status (SES), disabled
students, and students of limited English
proficiency.
– Disaggregated data focuses the standards
on the students who have usually been left
behind.
– Most of the states are adopting high-stakes
testing.
NCLB: Accountability Standards
• Consequences
– Students in failing schools are granted the
right to transfer, and the schools must provide
transportation.
– After three years, schools must offer free
tutoring.
– After four years of failing to make the passing
grade, schools could be forced to close and
reopen with completely new staff.
NCLB: Accountability Standards
• Impact
– Schools need to be more attentive to students
and their families to keep them from being
“left behind”.
– All teachers, regardless of subject matter,
must focus more on reading, writing, and
math skills.
How Do Our Local
Schools Perform?
View School District
“Report Cards”
NCLB: Problem
• Under NCLB, states establish their own
standards, but they are held accountable
for meeting those standards.
•  Will some states purposely set lower
standards to ensure their school districts
meet the standards?
What Do You Think?
Do you agree with the approach of the
NCLB legislation to improve schools?
What reforms do you think are necessary
in schools in light of the strengths and
weaknesses of your own secondary
education experiences?
PA Standards
• In 1999, PA adopted academic
standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking
and Listening, and Mathematics.
– These standards identify what a student
should know and be able to do at varying
grade levels.
School districts possess the freedom to
design curriculum and instruction to
ensure that students meet or exceed the
standards' expectations.
PSSA
• The annual Pennsylvania System of School
Assessment (PSSA) is a standards based
criterion-referenced assessment used to:
– Measure a student's attainment of the academic
standards.
– Determine the degree to which school programs
enable students to attain proficiency of the standards.
• Reading and math: grades 3 - 8 and grade 11.
• Writing: grades 5, 8, and 11.
PSSA Calendar
Teacher Preparation Standards
• Chapter 354: General Standards And
Specific Program Guidelines for Teacher
Preparation
– Provides an overview of how teachers in each
content area should be prepared in TED.
– What should future teachers be able to teach?
(What is taught in college?)
Chapter 354
PA Standards
How Do Districts Implement?
• State defines academic standards.
• Curriculum professionals in each
district/building work with teachers to define a
curriculum guide/course of study for the district.
– Based on state academic standards and curriculum
standards from professional organizations.
• Teachers base units and lessons on the
standards as defined by the school district.
– Teachers are held accountable for teaching the
standards.
The Process
State defines
academic standards.
• State standards.
Curriculum professionals
in each district/building.
• Curriculum standards
from professional
organizations.
Teachers base units
and lessons on
district standards.
Example
• Greater Nanticoke Area School District
Greater Nanticoke Area
What Standards Apply to You?
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Citizenship
–
–
–
–
History
Economics
Geography
Civics and Government
• English
• Mathematics
Review
• Background to
standards-based education
• No Child Left Behind (2001)
• PA Standards: How are they implemented
in districts?
• Chapter 354: What are you expected to
know when you graduate TED?
• Which standards apply to your field?
For the Next Class
• Download the following two documents:
– A hard copy of Pennsylvania’s State
Standards (i.e., PDE’s Chapter 4) that govern
your area of specialization (Citizenship
teachers have several areas).
– A hard copy of the standards for your area
promulgated by your field’s professional
organization (e.g., NCSS, NCTM, etc.).