By: Roxanne Putro, Jessica Huff, and Kaylyn White National Curriculum

What are “National Standards”? Different view of what they want to create – or protest: Some say it is setting standards for the content of what is taught Others say it is increasing the rigor of instruction Others say it means “standardizing” what knowledge is taught

What is National Curriculum? A framework used by all maintained schools to ensure that teaching and learning is balanced and consistent. A set of educational standards devised by a central government to be implemented in government-funded schools.

What is National Curriculum? Schools are free to plan and organize teaching and learning in the way that best meets the needs of their pupils (in the UK) Many schools use the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) Schemes of Work to plan their curriculum. These help to translate the National Curriculum’s objectives into teaching and learning activities.

What is National Curriculum? As we speak, there is a coalition drafting standards in math and reading and putting those drafts trhough a process of “validation” by a committee. Next step -  Write standards for each grade level. Decide whether the coalition moves on to create a common test for each grade in math and reading and advances to other subject areas.

National Curriculum Essential Questions Culturally would a national curriculum work for the United States? Is the United States too diverse to have a national curriculum? How is the size of the US a factor in relationship to the control that local authorities feel they need in setting up a national curriculum? How can schools serve the highest and lowest achievers? How can we develop high-quality content standards and tests?

Curriculum

Whose responsibility is it? Curriculum within public elementary education is determined by individual school districts. School district selects curriculum guides and textbooks that are reflective of a state's learning standards and benchmarks for a given grade level. Learning Standards are the goals by which states and school districts must meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) as mandated by No Child Left Behind.

Political Decisions Out of the Classroom

National curriculum systems generally require some type of assessment or standardized testing every few years. Rather than assessing a student's intelligence, the primary goal of the assessment tests are to measure how well the teacher or school is meeting the aims set out by the curriculum.

Teach to the Test

Thinking Outside the Box

Pros of a National Curriculum Allow state by state comparison. Certification for teaching standards and state qualifications will be the same across the board. Could see where strengths/weakness areas are in certain areas of the country. One version of a curriculum is easier to deal with on a national level than 50 state versions. Create an environment where students learn together about a shared concern. Enable students to mix self-interest and apply knowledge to solve problems. Make learning relevant to real issues. provide a well-assessed general base of knowledge for all students

Cons of a National Curriculum Disagreement between lawmakers  Who decides what is important/ what is not important Hidden Curriculums differ  State by state curriculum lines differ Federal Government power  Where their funding should go  Too much power to people that are not involved with teaching Different Cultures make up United States  Different cultures value different aspects of education - May not be tailored to the needs and heritage of specific students. Other aspects of education need to become uniform - Starting date, days of school, salaries Educators need more training.

National Curriculum and Individualism & Equality Article: “liberationists: “liberate students from oppressive forces in schools and society.” - “reconstructionists: use schools to criticize and remake society.”

National Curriculum “The statutory curriculum should establish an entitlement for all children and promote high standards.” and-purposes/index.aspx

Equality, Individualism, and Individuality A common curriculum is not a necessary implication of “cultural literacy,” but it comes into the picture if an entire populace is to be raised to a minimum level of literacy. It is also the best way to avoid one of the most damaging divisions in a society, that between the prosperous and the poor. Hirsch Jr, E.D. The Making of Americans: Democracy and Our Schools, Yale University Press, 2009.

Extensions of National Curriculum Will the national curriculum maintain its motives? Will it be criticized and even visciously attacked? Will it provide opportunities for out-of- school education? Will it accommodate ALL students after schooling as far as work?

Further Questions… Can administrators cope with the shift of power to teachers and students? How do you address concerns about not following a sequential curriculum? How do you make people understand that separate subjects are tools that are use to build knowledge, not ends unto themselves? How do we test this curriculum? Using this approach forces us to question our central American values of competition and individualism.

Other Sources Barton, Paul E. “National Education Standards: To Be or Not to Be?”, Educational Leadership, 67, April Hirsch Jr, E.D. The Making of Americans: Democracy and Our Schools, Yale University Press, Differences/2009/03/march_12_2009_dear_diane.html purposes/index.aspx McClusky, Neal. “Behind the Curtain: Assessing the Case for National Curriculum Standards”, Policy Analysis, 17, Feb 17, 2010 Smith, Marshall S. “A National Curriculum in the United States?” EJ432699, Educational Leadership 49, 1, 74-81, September, 1991.