| Welcome to Livonianeighbors.com. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. To ensure your privacy, never use personal information in your screen name or email address ("janedoe@hotmail.com" or "Billysmom" for example). Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Teachers union report: No link between academic performance and national standards; MLIVE- July 21, 2010 | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 27 2010, 01:02 AM (282 Views) | |
| Administrator | Jul 27 2010, 01:02 AM Post #1 |
|
Administrator
|
Teachers union report: No link between academic performance and national standards Published: Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 7:55 PM Updated: Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 10:25 PM Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids Press Making sure that students across the country learn the same things about the same subjects has been one of the main thrusts of the Obama administration’s education reforms. But a new report from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice pokes holes in the theory that national standards will do anything to boost academic achievement. The center, the research arm of the Michigan Education Association and unions in other states in the region, released a study authored by William J. Mathis stating that research doesn’t support the notion that standards are necessary for keeping the nation competitive in a global economy. Share “Without addressing both the in-school and out-of-school influences on test scores, common core standards are not likely to improve the quality and equity of America's public schools,” Mathis wrote in his report, “The 'Common Core' Standards Initiative: An Effective Reform Tool?” according to a release from the organization. The U.S. Education Department has pressured states to adopt national standards, giving points to states adopting them as they compete for Race to the Top dollars. States also could lose federal Title I aid if they do not adopt the standards, which are being created by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Mathis is the managing director of the Education and the Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the former superintendent in Vermont — a former national superintendent of the year finalist. “U.S. states with high academic standards fare no better (or worse) than those identified as having low academic standards,” he writes in the report. “Research support for standards–driven, test-based accountability systems is similarly weak. And nations with centralized standards generally tend to perform no better (or worse) on international tests than those without.” Mathis recommends that work in the standards continues, “but only as a low-stakes advisory and assistance tool for states and local districts for the purposes of curriculum improvement, articulation and professional development.” A fair question might be whether there is any harm in national standards, especially those created in a bipartisan environment. Is it a bad thing for students in Michigan to learn the same concepts in math and reading as those in Mississippi? A criticism of No Child Left Behind was that states were required to have students pass standardized tests, but each state could select its own tests. The fear was that some were more interested in higher achievement than others. National standards might be a step toward erasing those fears. But more significantly, the report is another indication that the unions and the Obama administration are not on the same page when it comes to school reform. Unions already have been critical of Race to the Top’s demands for linking teacher evaluations to test scores, the support for charter schools and calls for bringing people without traditional teacher education backgrounds into the ranks. E-mail Dave Murray: dmurray@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterDMurray http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/07/teachers_union_report_no_link.html |
![]() |
|
| n73pm | Jul 27 2010, 01:06 AM Post #2 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Dismantle all the teacher's unions!!! |
| I support Global Warming cuz nothing grows in ice! | |
![]() |
|
| Otis B. | Jul 30 2010, 11:57 AM Post #3 |
|
Veteran
|
The center, the research arm of the Michigan Education Association and unions in other states in the region, released a study authored by William J. Mathis stating that research doesn’t support the notion that standards are necessary for keeping the nation competitive in a global economy. Research arm? I think propaganda unit is far more accurate. Research requires some semblance of objectivity. |
![]() |
|
| « Previous Topic · Livonia Neighbors Forum · Next Topic » |








![]](http://z6.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)