Angling For A Common Curriculum
When it comes to curriculum, American public education is literally all over the map. Each state has its own set of learning standards and assessments, with local school districts determining how to cover the required content so students will master it.
That hodgepodge approach may be falling from favor, the New York Times reports. This week, a bipartisan group of educators and business and labor leaders announced their support for a common curriculum that states could adopt for public schools across the nation. If the proposal gains traction, it would go beyond the “common core” academic standards in English and mathematics that about 40 states adopted last year, by providing specific guidelines for schools and teachers about what should be taught in each grade.
For decades, similar calls for common academic standards, curricular materials and tests for use nationwide — the educational model used by many countries in Europe and Asia — have been beaten back by believers in America’s tradition of local control of schools. But last year’s successful push by governors to create a nationally recognized set of standards for what students should know and be able to do in English and mathematics has boosted the plan’s prospects.
“We are well aware that this will require a sea change in the way that education in America is structured,” proponents said in a statement released on Monday. But attaining the goals laid out in the new common core standards “requires a clear road map in the form of rich, common curriculum content.” The proposal aims to create a coherent set of guidelines rather than dictate textbook offerings or daily lesson plans.
Filed under: K-12 Education News
Tags: Curriculum, Education Policy, Public Policy
