K-12 Curriculum Development

Education with John Merrow (View 3 min. 50 sec. video)
Learning Matters

John Merrow addresses Race to the Top, the Common Core State Standards Initiative, testing and accountability programs, and the current state of education in the United States on this YouTube video developed by Learning Matters.

Merrow began his career as an education reporter with National Public Radio in 1974 with the weekly series, “Options in Education,” for which he received the George Polk Award in 1982.  He is currently President of Learning Matters and scholar in residence at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching at Stanford. Since 1984 he has worked in public television as Education Correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and as host of his own series of documentaries, The Merrow Report.  

He blogs regularly at Taking Note: Thoughts on Education.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on the observations made by John Merrow.  Do you agree with all of his points?  Do you have a different opinion?  Should public schools and policy makers consider different options?

View this article at National Center for Policy Analysis.
Posted January 22, 2010

Did Texas make the right decision?

Should the Federal Government dictate the curriculum for all 50 states?

Is Texas making a mistake by possibly losing out on millions of dollars in Race to the Top Funds?

What are your thoughts?

According to a recent article published by Education Week, "Forty states and the District of Columbia applied for the first round of $4 billion in the Race to the Top Fund competition, which pits states against each other for desperately needed money, bragging rights, and leverage to implement controversial education reforms such as merit pay for teachers."
 
Specific information and guidelines regarding Race to the Top funds are available on the U.S. Department of Education site at Race to the Top. 

The Race to the Top Application is 102 pages in length.
(see attached document below)

Race to the Top is authorized under section 14006 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  The purpose of the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program, is to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring student preparation for success in college and careers; and implementing ambitious plans in four core education reform areas:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

In the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top Application, it defines "Common Set of K-12 Standards" as:

"A set of content standards that define what students must know and be able to do and that are substantially identical across all States in a consortium.  A State may supplement the common standards with additional standards, provided that the additional standards do not exceed 15 percent of the State's total standards for that content area."

Translation:
Even though the Common Core State Standards Initiative calls the standards, "common standards", the United States may be moving closer to National Standards.  In order to qualify for the Race to the Top funds, states must agree to develop state standards aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

States are struggling to purchase textbooks, pay for high-stakes tests, pay for teachers and other staff, and provide funding to LEAs.  Given the state of the economy, states appear to be "racing" for the additional funding, which is unprecedented in U.S. History.  It appears that states are willing to play the National Standards game if funding is attached.

Federal Government Role in Education:
U.S. Department of Education
According to the U.S. Department of Education, "Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation. The structure of education finance in America reflects this predominant State and local role. Of an estimated $1 trillion being spent nationwide on education at all levels for school year 2008-2009, a substantial majority will come from State, local, and private sources. This is especially true at the elementary and secondary level, where just over 92 percent of the funds will come from non-Federal sources."

What Does the Constitution Say About the Role of the Federal Government in Education in the United States?

"The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.' Since education is not mentioned in the Constitution, it is one of those powers reserved to the states. Of course, the United States Supreme Court can declare that something not mentioned in the Constitution is so closely related to something that is mentioned in the Constitution that the unmentioned power is a fundamental interest, which rises to constitutional protection. So far, the Supreme Court has not declared that education is a fundamental interest. Thus, states have plenary, or absolute, power in the area of education." 

Source:
http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/edu/ed370/federal.html

Discussion:
What are your thoughts on the Common Core State Standards Initiative?

What are your thoughts on the Race to the Top competition for Funds?

http://tiny.cc/N7M9h
By Bridgette Wallis
Dallas Public Education Policy Examiner
January 3, 2009

"There are already several indicators that the Race to the Top will be rife with politics, ideological battles, and special interest groups vying for a slice of the pie."

This article addresses the following topics:

Common Core State Standards

Race to the Top Funds

Increasing Role of Federal Government in Public Schools

Additional articles and updates on the Common Core State Standards Initiative may be found in the Archives.

http://tinyurl.com/ybqo8xe
The Houston Chronicle - By Ericka Mellon
Nov. 13, 2009

According to a report by a Texas newspaper, "Texas is in the running for hundreds of millions of federal dollars to spur school improvement, but the state's reluctance to embrace some of President Barack Obama's education reform ideas could hurt its chances."

Questions to Consider:

1.  If there is no such thing as "National Standards", should the federal
     government be able to dictate which states receive federal funding based on
     whether or not governors or state education agencies endorse the Common
     Core State Standards?

2.  Does the Constitution give the U.S. Department of Education the power to
     withhold funding from states which choose to create their own state
     standards (States Rights vs. Federal Rights)?

3.  Does the Federal government have the power to provide federal funding to
     schools and state education agencies "with strings attached"?  Will states
     such as Texas be better off than states who receive millions of dollars in
     funding, with strings attached?

4.  If common core state standards are essential for preparing U.S. students for
     competition with their American peers and with students from around the
     world, should the United States consider amending the United States
     Constitution?

Additional Resources:

Education and the Constitution

Leading Education Associations Support Common Core State Standards Initiative

A Test For Our Nation - By Linda Darling-Hammond (Nov. 21, 2009)
  
Common Core State Standards Initiative - FAQs

States Slow Standards Work Amid 'Common Core' Push
Education Week
Published online on November 6, 2009

"At least four states—Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania—have halted revision of their standards for mathematics or English/language arts, the subjects that standards writers for the national initiative are turning to first. At least three other states have throttled back similar efforts until the grade-by-grade, K-12 common standards are made final in the coming months."

" Forty-eight states—all but Alaska and Texas—have pledged to adopt the whole package of common standards, and that package will constitute no less than 85 percent of what the states ultimately have committed to adopt and implement, Mr. Montgomery said."

"It’s prudent for states to put the revision of their standards on hold, said Michael L. Kamil, an education professor at Stanford University and a member of the feedback group for the common standards in English/language arts. (States refer to “English/language arts” standards by a variety of names, including “reading” and “language arts.”)"

"For one thing, the U.S. Department of Education has announced it will provide $350 million for joint assessments that align with the common standards as part of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund, a program under the federal economic-stimulus law."