http://nonationalstandards.org Protecting Educational Choice and Freedom for American Families Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:21:38 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 http://nonationalstandards.org/archives/3/comment-page-1#comment-7 DONALD C. ORLICH Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:21:38 +0000 http://nonationalstandards.org/?p=3#comment-7 As the author of “School Reform: The Great American Brain Robbery,” (2006, PublishAmerica, Baltimore), I devoted hours examining a national sample of standards. Let me quote my conclusion. “About the best descriptor I can make of the entire array of those ‘World Class’ state standards is that they are nothing but ’spitballs on the wall.’ In the old days, before kids packed a little heat to create chaos in school, the worst offense was throwing spitballs at the wall. If any stuck and the teacher saw them, you were in big trouble. This metaphor adequately describes the educational standards movement in every state that developed them because the standards are as random as spitballs. In no state can the standards be called curricula. They are not arranged in any meaningful sequence, nor do they show any flowcharts on how a student or teacher progresses from one standard to the next.” (Feel free to quote anywhere any time.) As the author of “School Reform: The Great American Brain Robbery,” (2006, PublishAmerica, Baltimore), I devoted hours examining a national sample of standards. Let me quote my conclusion.
“About the best descriptor I can make of the entire array of those ‘World Class’ state standards is that they are nothing but ’spitballs on the wall.’ In the old days, before kids packed a little heat to create chaos in school, the worst offense was throwing spitballs at the wall. If any stuck and the teacher saw them, you were in big trouble. This metaphor adequately describes the educational standards movement in every state that developed them because the standards are as random as spitballs. In no state can the standards be called curricula. They are not arranged in any meaningful sequence, nor do they show any flowcharts on how a student or teacher progresses from one standard to the next.”
(Feel free to quote anywhere any time.)

]]> http://nonationalstandards.org/archives/10/comment-page-1#comment-3 bvaliant Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:15:25 +0000 http://nonationalstandards.org/?p=10#comment-3 One of the big arguments for national standards is the purported failure of public schools to produce scientists and engineers, thus limiting the economic potential of our nation. This has been repeated so often by so many people that it has become a "fact." The evidence, never brought to light by the mainline media, demonstrates something else entirely. A 2007 study by Lowell and Salzman showed that each year there are three times as many science and engineering graduates in the U.S. as there are openings. Testimony before a House subcommitte asserted that the claim of shortages was patently false. It appears that big business wishes to discredit the schools in order to keep wages down in the technology sector. One of the big arguments for national standards is the purported failure of public schools to produce scientists and engineers, thus limiting the economic potential of our nation. This has been repeated so often by so many people that it has become a “fact.” The evidence, never brought to light by the mainline media, demonstrates something else entirely. A 2007 study by Lowell and Salzman showed that each year there are three times as many science and engineering graduates in the U.S. as there are openings. Testimony before a House subcommitte asserted that the claim of shortages was patently false. It appears that big business wishes to discredit the schools in order to keep wages down in the technology sector.

]]> http://nonationalstandards.org/archives/10/comment-page-1#comment-2 Concerned researcher Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:31:12 +0000 http://nonationalstandards.org/?p=10#comment-2 I rarely agree with anything coming out of Cato, but this is right on. Aside from the reasoning of McCluskey there are many reasons to oppose national standards. The dubious link between achievement test scores and the national economy is one of the more obvious. The standardistos fail to account for the mountain of research on instruction, multiple intelligences, learning theory, etc. that make it clear that this approach will not work. Add to this the evidence of 25years of reform based on "standards", that is complete failure, why would we continue down this road? I rarely agree with anything coming out of Cato, but this is right on. Aside from the reasoning of McCluskey there are many reasons to oppose national standards. The dubious link between achievement test scores and the national economy is one of the more obvious. The standardistos fail to account for the mountain of research on instruction, multiple intelligences, learning theory, etc. that make it clear that this approach will not work. Add to this the evidence of 25years of reform based on “standards”, that is complete failure, why would we continue down this road?

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