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Education history background
History of éducation essay
History of éducation essay
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The United States education system has been changed, reworked, and looked over for as long as it has been in existence. Bring up the words education and reform in the same room and you will have a full-fledged debate on your hands. The definition of education is so broad that it really cannot be answered without deliberation; most scholars would be hard pressed to fit its definition into one sentence. It’s fair to say that even secretary of education, Arne Duncan, would have a hard time defining it within the confines of one sentence. Because education is defined in such broad terms people are hard pressed to try and make it perfect. Reforming it becomes necessary to keep people happy. Reforming education in relative terms is a change in the way students are exposed to information. Educators and policy makers are constantly trying to determine the best way to get this information to the students. I believe it is fair to say that one policy change reforming one aspect of education will not create a perfect educational system. There is no perfect education system. I do however believe that reforming education is necessary for the progression of learning in the future. This being said I would like to enact a policy change to deal with post-secondary education focusing mainly on k-5 and 9-12 students enrolled at underprivileged public schools. The policy change I am proposing will phase out high-stakes testing; a form of standardized testing in which results could be detrimental to the test taker. This policy change would deal with problems that are directly linked to high-stakes testing in post-secondary school, grades k-12. The policy will reduce inequality between students created by the tests. Inaccurate results received from t...
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Freire, Paulo. “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.” Handout, English 1011, sec 22. Pamela
Swanigan, Instructor.
Jane, L. David. “High-Stakes Testing Narrows the Curriculum.” Academic Search Premier
March. 2011: 78-80. Print
Works Consulted
Finn E. Chester. Education Reform In The ’90s. New York: Macmillan, 1992. Print.
Fiske, Edward. “America’s Test Mania.” New York Times. The New York Times Company, 10 April. 1988. Web. 10 April. 2010.
Goldenberg, Claude. Successful School Change. New York: Teachers College Press, 2004. Print.
Kohn, Alfie. The Schools Our Children Deserve. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print.
McCarthy, Peggy. “Could Test Scores Be Put to Better Use?” New York Times. The New York
Times Company, 19 May. 1996. Database. 10 April. 2010.
Smith, D. “From the Pennsylvania Gazette.” City Gazette 13 Dec. 1790: VIII. Print
This is precisely the problem. Standardized tests are old and outdated, and the harm they cause to America’s education system by far outweighs the benefits. These tests were intended to monitor and offer ways to improve how public schools function, but instead they have impaired the natural learning ability of students and imposed upon the judgment of experienced educators. Although a means to evaluate the progress of public schools is necessary, it is also necessary to develop more modern and effective ways of doing so. Standardized testing mandated by the federal and state governments has a negative effect on the education of America’s youth.
Another major criticism of the “No Child Left Behind” deals with the implications of using a standardized test as means of assessing achievement.
Since the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In efforts to explore this issue further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the sentiments of the authors and their insight into standardized examination. The articles provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that standardized tests are not effective at measuring a teacher’s competency because they do not take into account the school environment and its effect on the students.
Education is the foundation of American society. It empowers the youth of America to become the successful leaders this country needs for the future. Education has been one of America’s top priorities since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Now, education is controlled by the No Child Left Behind Act, which was launched in January 8, 2002. This act was passed with intentions from the government to provide Americans with a more superior education system. However, The No Child Left Behind Act carried many flaws which were left unseen to a vast majority of the public. This act limited American students by not allowing them to demonstrate their full academic potentials while proceeding in school. While the act was still fairly fresh, there was already evidence to prove that it had already gotten off to a bad beginning. For the crucial math and science courses, statistics showed minimal improvements which had begun around the time period in which the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. The act was also supported by a number of educators who voiced themselves by testifying against having the right to teach at their own free will. Teachers across America claimed that because of this new act, they felt a constant heaviness upon their shoulders from the state government to “Teach the test.”
Young, K. (n.d.). Pros: Standardized Testing. Michigan State University. Est. 1855. East Lansing, Michigan USA. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from https://www.msu.edu/~youngka7/pros.html
Do you like being bombarded with the stress of having to take so many tests? In 1845 the US brought standardized testing in the subjects spelling, geography, and math into public schools (Standardized Testing 1). Standardized tests were made to swiftly assess students abilities (Standardized Testing 1). The No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 mandated testing in all 50 states. In the article, “Standardized Tests,” it states that “US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading” (Use of Standardized Tests 5). Blame of the decline in rates are on poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and increasingly on the pervasive use
Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .
For as long as any American can remember, education has been a top priority of the majority of the population. The more schooling a child receives, the brighter their future becomes. Everyone wants their child to be successful in and out of the classroom, and the government has been working to make sure of this in schools nationwide. Over the years, a series of programs have been implemented to better the education of elementary and secondary students, including the No Child Left Behind Act, establishing guidelines and requirements that public schools are expected to follow and accomplish in order to provide a quality education to all of their students. But are these plans, policies, and promises working? Are the goals and objections being reached by each school as expected? Although some may argue that the No Child Left Behind Act has some positive aspects, overall, it is not working because some teachers have studied the outline of standardized tests, reworking their curriculums to teach students what they need to know in order to reach the required standards and students’ learning abilities, socioeconomic status’, and native languages are generalized into a single curriculum.
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
The education reform movement is made up of voices that disproportionately are not of comprised of the very races, ethnicities, and cultures it attempts to serve. Recently, I read an article directly addressing this issue and acknowledging the calls to diversify by African American education leaders including Kaya Henderson, chancellor of the DC public schools and Howard Fuller, Marquette professor. Fuller stated, “The people who are being liberated must be a critical part of their own liberation.” This statement made me reflect on my own experiences as a researcher and advocate within education reform.
Scholar Bill Ayers believes standardized testing in schools does not accurately measure what is necessary to be successful in life. Ayers insists that Standardized tests such as the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) measure specific facts and function which are among the least interesting and slightest important information that children should know. In an article titled “Testing the Right Way for Talent”, written by Hugh Price, argues the fact that standardized tests fail to capture the qualities that are necessary to be successful in the business world. Another article labeled “Implementing NCLB Assessment and Accountability Requirements in an Imperfect World” composed by Stuart Kahl, is in agreement with both Price and Ayers. According to Bill Ayers, Hugh Price and Stuart Kahl, standardized tests are uncalled excuse for a traumatic and stressful time in a child’s life.
5. What’s Wrong With High Stakes Testing in General and Aims in Particular? Retrieved October 24, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.azstandards.org/protestmaterials.htm
Kohn, Alfie. The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann 2000.
There are platitudes of issues and elements that pertain to the educational process as well as curriculum development that are addressed on a routine basis. As many researchers have discussed, and administrators and teachers alike have grown to understand, if this current educational model/system is to produce creative, productive, active, and technologically savvy students-citizens the worst actions are perhaps having no actions at all (Stansbury, 2013). In addition to the grandiose mistakes of becoming stagnant (progress), educators and administrators are faced with increasing demands at the highest levels; this of course is making reference to both federal and state legislation such as No Child Left Behind, perhaps the most groundbreaking legislation to date. These rigorous demands are curriculum based, creating definitive and innovative opportunities for educators, especially those in positions to promote and formulate new curriculum models as well as propose the implementation of a new curricula into the system, to better prepare students within their educational system/process exactly what the demands of a 21st century requires. These demands are in reference to an article written by Richard Long titled Career Success Demands Strong 21st Century Literacy Skills. Long states several skills that will be required if American students are to play catch –up with the rest of the world as well as perhaps attain their position at the top of the upper echelon of world educational rankings (Long, 2010).
Education is a vital tool for lifelong success but there are many areas of concern in the current system of public education. Education reform has been a constant occurrence since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Every year, specialists develop