K-12 Curriculum Development

On March 10, President Barack Obama spoke at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Conference in Washington, D.C.  To view a full transcript of his remarks, provided by the White House, visit Education Reform.  Since this site is designed for educators in the United States and abroad to discuss K-12 Curriculum Development, please share your thoughts on state standards versus national standards and on the President's recent remarks regarding education reform.

Excerpt from speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce:

"So let's challenge our states -- let's challenge our states to adopt world-class
 standards that will bring our curriculums to the 21st century. Today's system of
 50 different sets of benchmarks for academic success means 4th grade readers
 in Mississippi are scoring nearly 70 points lower than students in Wyoming --
 and they're getting the same grade. Eight of our states are setting their
 standards so low that their students may end up on par with roughly the
 bottom 40 percent of the world.

 That's inexcusable. That's why I'm calling on states that are setting their
 standards far below where they ought to be to stop low-balling expectations
 for our kids. The solution to low test scores is not lowering standards -- it's
 tougher, clearer standards. (Applause.) Standards like those in Massachusetts,
 where 8th graders are -- (applause) -- we have a Massachusetts contingent
 here. (Laughter.) In Massachusetts, 8th graders are now tying for first -- first in
 the whole world in science. Other forward-thinking states are moving in the
 same direction by coming together as part of a consortium. And more states
 need to do the same. And I'm calling on our nation's governors and state
 education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don't simply
 measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they
 possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and
 entrepreneurship and creativity.

"Curriculum is analyzed to find gaps - are there standards that have not been addressed?  Repetitions - are there topics in content that repeat without any significant changes in the material? Spirals - places where the curriculum spirals and builds in complexity?  Are thinking skills focused and to what level?"  These curriculum conversations help us to answer the question What do we want students to know and be able to do (p. xiii)?

References:

Kallick, B. & Colosimo, J. (2009). Using curriculum mapping and assessment data
            to improve learning.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Video:
An official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, this June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com -- Content by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, design and development by XPLANE. 

What is Twitter?  According to the official web site, Twitter allows teachers, friends and family members to “stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”

While Twitter does not provide the amount of information that a curriculum map gives each teacher and administrator, it could be used as a communication tool.  Professional educators could take advantage of this tool in an effort to provide ongoing communication about instructional decisions, pacing, teacher assignments, project deadlines and exam dates.

At the beginning of a new unit of study, teachers could update their Twitter statement (under 140 characters max. allowed).  An educator may type, “This week our Honors U.S. History classes are beginning World War I.  This is a five day unit.”  Another educator may type, “Our students struggled with Unit 3, so we are going to spend March 20-21 reviewing the key concepts identified in Unit 3.” 

As with other forms of professional communication (Email, Blogs, Discussion Boards, Education Chat Rooms, etc.), educators would need to make certain that they did not post unprofessional comments, mention student names or post what they are doing in their personal life.

If your school district is currently using Twitter as a form of ongoing professional communication, please share your experiences.

 Are schools in the United States preparing students for life and work in the 21st century?  If schools within a state have a difficult time aligning their local curriculum to the state standards, then how aligned are the fifty states?  Are some students receiving a more rigorous second grade curriculum than their peers in other states?  Does an A+ in Algebra I mean the same in Massachussetts as it does in Mississippi?  Should the United States adopt national standards, or should states continue to develop the standards and objectives for public schools?

According to the Center for American Progress, "With more than 50 different sets of standards, there is no national measure/yardstick/ standard/benchmark for academic achievement at each of the grade levels. NCLB requires that states hold districts and schools accountable for getting all their students to 'proficient' achievement levels, but allows them to adopt their own definitions of 'proficiency.'"

"With the pressure to increase student performance, there has been counter pressure for states to game the system by lowering both standards and proficiency definitions...

...Only national curriculum standards and national definitions and measures of student performance at proficiency levels can prevent this behavior."

Do you agree with this statement? 

References:

The Case for National Standards, Accountability and Fiscal Equality
Center for American Progress (November 2005)

Additional Resources:

Achieve

NAEP: A Common Yardstick

President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have recently shared their thoughts on national standards for K-12 education in the United States.  On February 16, Randi Weingarten wrote an Op-Ed article in The Washington Post.  Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, wrote "The countries that consistently outperform the United States on international assessments all have national standards, with core curriculum, assessments and time for professional development for teachers based on those standards."

"The United States Constitution created a national system of banking, transportation, commerce, justice, and the military with attendant national agencies and institutions to plan, direct, and implement them; education was left under the old Articles of Confederation, where it remains to this day" (English & Steffy, 2001, p. 31).

Questions for Professional Dialogue:

What are the benefits of national standards?

What are the weaknesses of national standards?

Do you teach in a country with national standards?

What is your opinion on national standards versus state standards?

Additional Sources:

The Accountability Illusion
Released by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation (Feb. 19, 2009)

Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World Class Education
National Governors Association (Dec. 19, 2008)

Education Standards are not the Answer
CATO Institute (article appeared in The Washington Post - April 5, 2007)

The Case for National Standards in American Education
Education Week - Commentary (March 5, 2007)

National Standards: 50 Standards for 50 States Is a Formula for Incoherence and Obfuscation
Education Week - Commentary (January 5, 2006)

The Case for National Standards, Accountability and Fiscal Equity
The Center for American Progress (2005)

English, F.W., & Steffy, B.E. (2001). Deep curriculum alignment: Creating a level
          playing field for all children on high-stakes tests of educational
          accountability. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc.

As a teacher and curriculum developer, do you ever feel like you are in a race against time?  At some point, most educators ask the question 'Is everything important?'  How do teachers and administrators in your school district make decisions about what is most worth knowing?  Curriculum development cannot be done in isolation if educators are seeking curriculum alignment, a purposeful curriculum, and a guaranteed and viable curriculum (Marzano). 

“Any curriculum aiming for student understanding requires uncoverage of the material – inquiring into, around, and underneath content instead of simply covering it” (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998, p. 98).  According to Brandt, "designing lessons for understanding begins with what we want students to be able to do and proceeds to the evidence we will accept that they have learned it”
(in Understanding by Design, p. vi).

Before there can be a rational curriculum, we must settle which things it most concerns us to know.....

                                                               - Herbert Spencer
                                                                 What Knowledge is of Most Worth (1854)

Seven Questions for Educators to Address: 

1.  What should students know and be able to do as a result of this course?

2.  What concepts and skills will every teacher at a specific grade level
     'guarantee' to teach?

3.  What will each teacher commit to doing when students do not learn the key
      concepts and skills for this course?

4.  How will teachers in our school district communicate with each other
     regarding curriculum and instruction? (Online Curriculum Mapping, Early
     Release Days, Common Planning Period, Professional Learning Community,
     Periodic Curriculum Audit, K-12 Writing Folders, etc.)

5.  Does the current recommended pacing outlined by our district allow enough
     time for student mastery of the key concepts and skills?

6.  How can classroom teachers provide input when they see a gap in the
     district's curriclum or when the pacing needs to be adjusted in order to
     support student understanding?

7.  Former college football coach Lou Holtz describes W.I.N., an acronym he used
     with his teams.  W.I.N. stands for What's Important Now (Holtz, 1998,
     Winning Everyday: The Game Plan for Success ).  At this point in the school
     year, What's Important Now (W.I.N.) in your course?  Would all teachers and
     administrators provide the same answer?

Curriculum development is an ongoing process.  Based on my experience working with schools, some teachers and administrators err on the side of celebrating when standardized test scores increase and search for a "quick fix" when there is a decrease in test scores.  While standardized tests are one method of assessing student learning, the best teachers I have observed and worked with understand that a focus on testing is a narrow approach to curriculum development.  One example of the consequences of focusing on standardized tests is curricular reductionism.  

The authors of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy Teachers recommend that teachers and administrators ask the questions below.

Four Important Organizing Questions:

1.  What is important for students to learn in the limited school and
     classroom time available? 
     (the Learning Question)
 
2.  How does one plan and deliver instruction that will result in high levels
     of learning for large numbers of students?
     (the Instruction Question)

3.  How does one select or design assessment instruments and procedures
     that provide accurate information about how well students are learning?
     (the Assessment Question)
 
4.  How does one ensure that the objectives, instruction, and assessment
     are consistent with one another?
     (the Alignment Question)
 
 Source:
             A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of 
                       Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives (2001)

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, describes "The Hedgehog Concept" as a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the three circles.  For more information on "The Hedgehog Concept" visit Jim Collins.com.

Using the three circles, educators can participate in a simple activity which creates professional conversations and allows a school or school system to identify programs and strategies which are aligned and which support the district's crystalline concept.

Using a flip chart or a computer, draw three overlapping circles.  Some educators may call this a triple Venn Diagram.  Label one of the circles with the word 'Curriculum'. Label the second circle 'Instruction'.  Label the third circle with the word Assessment.' Most school districts identify their crystalline concept or their purpose as student achievement.  If student achievement is your district's main focus, then each of the programs or strategies written in each circle will lead towards increasing student achievement.  

                 If everything is important, then nothing is important.
                                                               - Grant Wiggins, 1998, p. 223

Do educators in your school have a Hedgehog Concept?  The Three Circles activity may indicate that there are numerous programs and initiatives among buildings in a school district, but many of the initiatives seem to be in conflict with each other. Curriculum guru Fenwick English wrote, many school systems operate as a system of schools rather than a school system.  Alignment is a process and this simple activity can help teachers and administrators commit to working towards the district's Hedgehog Concept.