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The SOLS before 1995 Alisa, Beth, Bruce, Jack and Marty Problem # 1 • Review the History of Virginia’s SOLS up to the 1995 version. Review back to the introduction of the term. Provide an overview including the revision, reform and accountability processes. Remember standards other that 4 core classes. Include reference to your text in terms of your belief of the model or theory found in the development of the Virginia SOLs. Why do we have standards? • Americans expect standards in everything that we do. • We expect standards in the way buildings are constructed and roads are build. It makes life safer. • We expect standards in the food we eat and the air we breathe. • Standards are created because they improve the quality of life. • Why should we not expect standards in education to improve the quality of life as well? • (Former Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch) The Reform of Schools, 1939 • “Effective standards in public education are deplorably and inexcusably low” • “The subjects are being taught but they are not being learned” • “Values come from learning and in standards which operate, not just going to school. Young people accumulate credits, pass courses and come out knowing little or nothing, it is intolerable” • “Research demonstrates that the average pupil in school fails to learn but succeeds in passing” • (The Reform of Schools by James L. Mursell) The Committee of Ten • 1894 • Called for an established academic curriculum for all high school students • Considered: methods of instruction and assessment among other things Interview # 1: Science Teacher • How did you know what to teach? • • • • • • Did you feel pressure? Assessment? • You followed the book The English Department choose a book and we did a unit around the book Myths –taught stars A Day No Pigs Would Die – taught soil • Forget the SOLS. Do fun stuff. Do “feel good activities” 1996: The pressure began • LPT Interview # 2: Math Teacher • How did you know what to teach? • • It was based on Units, the novels the English department read. Covered what they thought was important (but not necessarily what they liked) List of skills to teach and followed the list for Algebra Hands on activities • • • Did you feel pressure? • 1998: The real pressure began • Assessment? • • LPT Liked SRA tests and the Stanford 9 because they liked knowing how we compared to others. Interview #3: Science Teacher - Administrator • How did you know what to teach? • Taught the SOLS. “I was the only one and the principal wanted to know what I was teaching” • 1987: Taught units but still followed SOLS • Assessment • Teacher made tests • LPT (Math/Science Blocks… around LPT time double up on math) • “SRA and Stanford 9 were worthless” Opinions of then and now • • • • • SOLS are much better. We know what to teach. Kids are learning more Teachers are teaching more. Hate the pressure but like the results. LPT: Literacy Passport Test • Criterion based • 1989-90: The LPT was developed to determine if every student in Virginia was prepared for high school in the basic areas. • Test was given to 6th graders • Covered reading, math, and a writing sample • Skills and knowledge assessed were based on Virginia’s 1988 SOLS LPT con’t • Developed as a requirement for students to be classified as 9th graders. • All students, no exceptions, were required to pass to earn a Standard of Advanced Diploma • Students (except Special Education students) must have passed by the 9th grade to participate according to VHSL rules and cannot hold class office because they are not considered 9th graders. Stanford 9 • Norm referenced test • Designed to provide information on academic achievement of Virginia Students as compared with those in other states • Reading: vocabulary and comprehension • Math: problem solving and procedures • Language: prewriting, composing and editing • You didn’t teach to the test as with SOLS but you didn’t want your students looking bad compared to other schools around the nation. Iowa Testing • Measures the skills and achievement of students from kindergarten through grade 8 • Tests include reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science • Provides information about development of student’s skills and their critical thinking skills. National Assessment of Educational Progress • Assesses what student should know about geography, reading, writing, math, science, history, the arts, and civics • 1969: surveyed achievement at ages 9, 13 and 17 • 1980s: grades 4, 8, 12 • Not given to every school but to random schools nationwide • 1994: Virginia’s NAEP reading scores are the lowest in the nation. • 1995: Virginia first adopts the SOLS in response to NAEP test scores SOLS other than 4 core content areas • • • • Pe/Health: 2000 Music: 1983, 1987, 2000 Art: 1989, 2000 Correlated Dance and Theater to the 1995 SOLs The Remainder of the presentation….. • A Nation at Risk and the early SOLS • Charlottesville Summit and NCTM standards • SCANS Report • Goals 2000 Act and the Allen Administration A NATION AT RISK Published in 1983 by the National Commission on Excellence in Education I. Goals • Asses the quality of teaching and learning • Compare American education with other industrialized nations • Study the relationship between high school achievement and college admissions • Identify programs which result in student success in college • Assess how reforms have influenced student achievement II. Findings • Regarding Content - No central purpose in curriculum - Cafeteria style curriculum - Too much student choice - Too many electives in non - core areas • Expectations - measured through graduation requirements, exams and college admissions • Deficiencies - not enough homework - not enough time in class - no foreign language requirements - too many electives - minimums becoming maximums - weak textbooks • Regarding Teaching - mismanaged time in classrooms - unqualified teachers - subject content not being taught - shortage of teachers in significant areas - study skills not being developed III. Recommendations • • • • Teach the Core Curriculum Use outside resources to aid education Introduce foreign language sooner Elementary education should involve fundamentals and a love of learning • Vocational and fine art courses should be included in high school - More homework - Instruction in study skills - Longer school year and school day - Removal of students who have no interest in learning - Ability grouping - Teachers should teach National Council of Teachers of Mathematics NTCM, 1986 What did NCTM do? They took the first step toward preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s challenges. It charged the Commission on Standards for School Mathematics to create: 1. 2. A coherent definition of what it means to be mathematically literate, and A set of standards that would guide efforts to revise and improve school mathematics curricula and to evaluate the success of mathematics reform. NCTM developed its Standards in response to a recognized need for change in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The NCTM Standards 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Learn to value mathematics. Learn to reason mathematically. Learn to communicate mathematically. Become confident of their mathematical abilities. Become mathematical problem solvers. The Charlottesville Education Summit, September 1989 President George Bush The “Education President” And The Nation’s 50 Governors Why? There were growing concerns about the educational preparation of our youth. What else contributed? A Nation at Risk Insignificant improvement of student achievement scores The need of better educated labor to remain competitive globally A need to stimulate public support for state and local schooling Highly controversial wall charts Six Goals Annually increasing the number of children served by preschool programs with the goal of serving all “at-risk” 4-year-olds by 1995. Raising the basic skills achievement of all students to at least their grade level, and reducing the gap between the test scores of minority and white children by 1993. Improving the high school graduation rate every year and reducing the number of illiterate Americans. Six Goals, continued Improving the performance of American students in mathematics, science, and foreign languages until it exceeds that of students from “other industrialized nations”. Increasing college participation, particularly by minorities, and specifically by reducing the current “imbalance” between grants and loans. Recruiting more new teachers, particularly minority teachers, to ease “the impending teacher shortage,” and taking other steps to upgrade the status of the profession. The President and the Nation’s Governors Agreed to: Establish a process for setting national education goals. Seek greater flexibility and enhanced accountability in the use of Federal resources to meet goals through legislative and regulation changes. Undertake a major state-by-state effort to restructure our education system. Report annually the progress in achieving our goals. SCANS • Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (June 1991) • Report prepared as part of “America 2000” • Asked to examine demands of the workplace and evaluate young people’s ability to meet the demand Findings Were Disturbing! • More than 1/2 of all students were leaving school without the foundation or knowledge required to find & hold a good job! • Echoes of “A Nation at Risk”? Workplace Know-How • Part of the “World Class Standards” • Three Part Foundation • Five Essential Competencies 5 Essential Competencies: Resources: allocating time, money, materials, space, and staff; Interpersonal Skills: working on teams, teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating, and working well with people from culturally diverse backgrounds; Information: acquiring and evaluating data, organizing and maintaining files, interpreting and communicating, and using computers to process information Systems: understanding social, organizational, and technological systems, monitoring and correcting performance, and designing or improving systems; Technology: selecting equipment and tools, applying technology to specific tasks, and maintaining and troubleshooting technologies. THREE FOUNDATIONAL AREAS: Basic Skills: reading, writing, arithmetic and mathematics, speaking, and listening; Thinking Skills: thinking creatively, making decisions, solving problems, seeing things in the mind's eye, knowing how to learn, and reasoning Personal Qualities individual responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity. SCANS “Action Items” • Examine creation of an assessment system for teaching students to understand what they need to know and CERTIFY that they have MASTERED COMPETENCIES so that their performance in high school may be honored by employers and colleges SCANS “Action Items” • Consider the implications of the findings for curriculum development, school organization, teacher training, and instructional materials & technology … AND • Help the administration establish the partnerships called for in “America 2000” EXCERPTS FROM AMERICA 2000's FOUR-PART STRATEGY • Part 1 “For Today’s Students: Better and More Accountable Schools & World Class Standards” • Part 2 ”For Tomorrow’s Students: …help communities create schools that will reach the national education goals, including World Class Standards” GOALS 2000: EDUCATE AMERICA ACT passed in 1994 under President Clinton Goals 2000 To improve learning and teaching by providing a national framework for education reform; to promote the research, consensus building, and systemic changes needed to ensure equitable educational opportunities and high levels of educational achievement for all students; to provide a framework for reauthorization of all Federal education programs; to promote the development and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill standards and certifications; and for other purposes. The 8 Goals GOAL 1: All children in America will start school ready to learn. GOAL 2: The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%. GOAL 3: All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography, and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our nation's modern economy. GOAL 4: The nation's teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of their professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century. GOAL 5: United States students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. GOAL 6: Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. GOAL 7: Every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. GOAL 8: Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. To have access to funding under Goals 2000, states had to submit grant proposals; submit "improvement plans" for the U.S. Secretary of Education's approval; receive penalties for failure to comply with their own improvement plans; form "partnerships" between local schools, businesses, and institutions of higher education; and coordinate their Goals 2000 efforts with School-toWork and other social reform programs. Goals 2000 also established a NATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS AND IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL to certify and periodically review voluntary national content standards and voluntary national student performance standards that define what all students should know and be able to do, etc. No one was ever appointed to this council Goals 2000 was amended in 1996 The amendment, among other things, refocused the accountability provisions of the legislation, but did not change the framework for the standardsbased reform plans States were to develop and implement. With the final language of the No Child Left Behind Act came the withdrawal of all authorization for Goals 2000. Just before leaving town on December 21, 2001, Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2002 Education Appropriations Conference Committee report which eliminated spending on Goals 2000. Goals 2000 no longer authorized and now no longer funded, was dead. http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200209010.asp Meanwhile, in Virginia… Virginia was one of two states to refuse Goals 2000 funding. Governor George Allen rejected the funding because “the federal dollars came with too many strings attached.” Allen reversed his position for FY 96 and 97 and accepted funding, because, according to a spokesman, “the strings to federal oversight have disappeared. “ Cavalier Daily, 1/17/97 Governor Allen In 1993, appointed a gubernatorial transition team for educational policy In 1994, charged the state legislators to do four things: establish rigorous Standards of Learning (SOLs) for students, establish new Standards of Accreditation (SOAs) for schools and school systems, develop a plan of action for meeting new standards, hold school systems accountable for the performance of their students New VA Standards of Learning In 1994, 4 lead school divisions were selected to head the process of developing new SOLs Lead School Divisions FAIRFAX COUNTY— MATHEMATICS PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY— SCIENCE VIRGINIA BEACH—ENGLISH NEWPORT NEWS—HISTORY/ SOCIAL STUDIES In September 1994, an initial draft for each core academic area was presented to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The standards were then presented initially to the Standards Subcommittee of the Governor’s Champion Schools Commission and, finally, to the full commission. Following the revisions, the draft standards were ready to be presented to the Board of Education for final adoption. In all, more than 5000 Virginians were involved in this process of evaluation and development. VA DOE June 1995 New SOLs approved by the state Board of Education July 1995 SOLs distributed to local school divisions References www.pen.k12.va.us http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/suptsmemos/1997/inf152.html http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/VA_Board/bd-mtd-updt/mtg1-898.html http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Parents/ptasolna.pdf www.riverpub.com www.edaction.org www.has.vcu.edu www.sjraiders.org What Should Children Learn by Paul Gagnon (1995) The Reform of Schools by James L. Mursell (1939) A Comprehensive Guided to Designing Standard-Based Districts, Schools and Classrooms by Robert J. Marzano and John S. Kendall Informal interview of teachers, staff and testing coordinator http://www.ed.gov/G2K/GoalsRpt/append-e.html http://www.policyreview.org/fall95/thhim.html http://www.cblpolicyinstitute.org/goodleaders.htm http://www.cavalierdaily.com:2001/.Archives/1996/April/26/nsgoals.asp http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-15/28summit.h15 http://www.ncpa.org/press/allenfedpr.html http://www.cblpolicyinstitute.org/lil.htm AFT, Making Standards Matter, http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed356553.html http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin042.shtml http://www.cavalierdaily.com:2001/.Archives/1996/April/15/lead.asp http://www.policyreview.org/fall95/thhim.html http://www.cavalierdaily.com:2001/.Archives/1997/January/17/nsjay.asp http://commons.somewhere.com/reportcard/1994/DAILY.REPORT.CARD51.html#Index8 The Significance of the NCTM Standards to the Pathways Critical Issues in Mathematics, www.ncrel.org Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, www.mcrel.org The Road to Charlottesville, the 1989 Education Summit, Maris A. Vinovskis, www.negp.gov References http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/koha0002.htm http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200209010.asp National Commission on Excellence in Education. A Nation At Risk, 1981. Dr. Robert Grimesey, Jr. Superintendent, Alleghany County Public Schools. interview. Mrs. Mary Jane Mutispaugh. Supervisor of Instruction, AlleghanyCounty Public Schools. interview. Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Education, Curriculum Framework United States History. Richmond, VA. 2001.