Challenges: Time to perform the check and to analyse the results; Not having additional resources allocated to each school — funding a concern; Risk
of narrowing of curriculum.
Not exact matches
Since 2001, the
curriculum in many elementary schools has
narrowed to little more than a steady diet
of reading and math.
Mostly they need to learn the
curriculum material to pass exams, and to have a
narrow band
of knowledge that the authorities consider the most important.
He found headteachers were being undermined at the hand
of the new governors and that
curriculums were being
narrowed to reflect their personal views.
«The English Bac, by focusing on such a
narrow range
of subjects, may prejudice the National
Curriculum review and should not have been introduced before this had taken place.
«The emphasis on ensuring that there is high - quality vocational provision would mark an end to the restrictions
of the Coalition's
narrow, elitist, academically focused
curriculum that is stifling the talents and skills
of so many
of our young people.
Mr McCarthy said teaching was the «foundation for civilised society» but suggested the
curriculum was too
narrow and the focus
of the
curriculum could be in the wrong place.
«We are
narrowing the
curriculum, teaching to the test, and children are missing out on a rich and meaningful education,» said Shirley Verrico, a parent who lives in the Williamsville Central School District and is a member
of Western New York Allies.
«What we need in a diverse and increasingly non-religious society is not Church schools, but schools that will be genuinely inclusive
of all: open to all children, not restricted in admissions as many state funded church schools are; open to all qualified teachers, not jealously guarding their legal right to discriminate; teaching a broad and balanced
curriculum, not a
narrow curriculum coloured by a single unshared religion.»
This should be helpful in counteracting the
narrowing of the
curriculum.
The NRC, instead
of considering these actual costs, suggests that implicit costs in the form
of narrowed curricula are the most important, but it provides no evidence for its view.
Interestingly, the committee's conclusion with respect to exit exams does not pick up on the full report's emphasis on the importance
of the design features
of incentive systems, which include warnings that tests aimed at ensuring minimum competency may lower expectations, and concerns about both the potential
narrowing of the
curriculum and the tendency for score inflation on a known test.
Critics
of NCLB's testing and accountability requirements have a litany
of complaints: The tests are inaccurate, schools and teachers should not be responsible for the test performance
of unprepared or unmotivated students, the measure
of school inadequacy used under NCLB is misleading, the tests
narrow the
curriculum to what is being tested, and burdens imposed upon teachers and administrators are excessively onerous.
During stakeholder consultations, educators raised concerns the assessments would be an extra burden to teachers already struggling with a hefty workload, lead to a possible
narrowing of the
curriculum, and cause stress for students and parents.
The results
of this survey are predictable: protests about
narrowing the
curriculum, teaching to the test, inadequate professional development, unfairness toward disadvantaged and minority youngsters — and toward hard - working teachers themselves.
I refuse to pretend that it's caused no mischief in our schools —
narrowing curriculum, encouraging large amounts
of ill - conceived test prep, and making school a joyless grind for too many teachers and students alike — but neither can any fair - minded analyst deny that there have been real if modest gains in our present era
of test - driven accountability, especially for low - income black and Hispanic children, particularly in the early grades.
The National Association
of Head Teachers (NAHT) has criticised the government's focus on the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc), claiming it is «
narrowing the
curriculum».
In the meantime, millions
of students will face a
narrower curriculum, larger classes, crumbling buildings and the erosion
of extra-curricular activities as schools cope with over # 3 billion in real terms cuts.
«
Narrowing the school
curriculum, the reduction in creative subjects and the removal
of some play times for primary pupils may all be factors affecting behaviour in schools.
However, the implementation
of NCLB has perverted standards - based accountability by
narrowing the
curriculum, limiting the ways in which student performance is assessed, and constraining pedagogy.
A 2013 senate committee looked at a range
of adverse consequences emerging from the NAPLAN, including
narrowing the
curriculum, and the development
of a NAPLAN preparation industry — creating the perception NAPLAN is a «high stakes» test.
This practice works best as a response to gaps in cultural learning and representation that happen when
curriculum is perceived to have too
narrow a focus on a white, middle - to - upper - class, male - dominated view
of the world.
Here, in contrast to his approach in other chapters, Knee illustrates well the politics that affected Wireless Generation and Amplify, and shows how Amplify's management team underestimated the challenges
of curriculum development and adoption while spending aggressively to expand its
narrow product focus.
Partly in response to federal accountability measures ~
curriculum in many schools particularly those serving predominantly disadvantaged students has
narrowed to focus on reading and math at the expense
of the arts ~ physical education ~ civics and other subjects.
«The more
narrowing of the
curriculum occurs and the more teachers feel compelled to teach to Sats, the more teachers will be unhappy.
This
narrowing of the
curriculum can have an effect on teachers» stress levels because it clashes with their beliefs, according to Brian Apter, chair
of the division
of educational and child psychologists at the British Psychological Society.
Race to the Bottom Michael McGill Focusing on the push over the past few decades to «save» the nation's schools by applying rigorous business strategies, Michael McGill, M.A.T.» 67, C.A.S.» 70, Ed.D.» 72, a former superintendent, argues that corporate reform has actually weakened public schools, with
narrower curriculums and a slashing
of «nonessentials» like art and languages.
International data are seen as «drivers» for national and local reform in terms
of teacher qualifications,
curriculum improvement, and sources
of comparative information on
narrowing the gaps and successful school management.
The Chinese national educational system has won high praise as an efficient system with national standards, a
narrow curriculum, a high - stakes test (the college entrance exam), and a clearly defined set
of gateways to mark students» transitions from one stage to another.
Parents worried that the drive to increase performance on state tests came at the cost
of an ever -
narrowing curriculum and that the focus on getting the «bubble kids» from slightly below proficient to slightly above proficient came at the cost
of teaching kids who were way behind or ahead.
It's
curriculum narrowing, over-reliance on test prep, practice exams, and myriad other decisions large and small that cumulatively alter our children's experience
of school — and not always for the better.
In short, the very conditions that led parents to revolt because
of an over-reliance on testing,
curriculum narrowing, and aggressive test preparation are not going away.
Accountability pressures on teachers, allied with concerns about inspection and the
narrowing curriculum options with EBacc are fostering competitive classroom environments where teachers are feeling forced to teach to test and not to the benefit
of learners or their community.
WGU also has lower employee costs, as full - time faculty members serve primarily as student mentors and neither develop
curriculum nor perform research (this also supports the school's
narrow value proposition
of providing professional rather than academic training).
He read the research, the data on
curriculum narrowing and the unintended consequences
of test - driven accountability practices.
Parents have every right and reason to be concerned with the deleterious effects
of testing, particularly
curriculum narrowing and excessive time given over to test prep.
And lower stakes tests that are primarily about information rather than coercion will produce much less harmful
narrowing of the
curriculum.
A 2013 white paper noted that the existing progress reports» overreliance on state tests meant that «some educators have felt pressure to engage in test prep,
narrowing the
curriculum,» and that «finding the right balance
of multiple measures is critical.»
Schools and educators are likely to
narrow the
curriculum by focusing on tested subjects at the expense
of untested ones.
Our goal with this measure is to ensure that schools do not excessively
narrow the
curriculum at the cost
of non-tested subjects and opportunities for enrichment.
If we are focussed (as the
curriculum is) on individual needs, we will consider students» personal, social, ethical, intercultural, artistic, musical and physical needs and their preferred learning styles (as the
curriculum does), not just their ability to stride upwards on PISA graphs in a
narrow range
of learning areas.
Many education organizations are vocal in their opposition to the emphasis on standardized tests in current policy, believing that they
narrow curriculum, cost too much, and are
of little use in improving student learning.
The news comes as critics have argued that the
curriculum is a reflection
of the government's «obsession with a
narrow set
of subjects in a rigid framework» and is likely to damage the chances
of young people who do not follow an academic route into work.
By focusing on math and reading to the exclusion
of other subjects, he says, «you create incentives to further distort and
narrow the
curriculum, which is disastrous.»
Indeed the Prime Minister David Cameron and Michael Gove, Secretary
of State for Education both see this new approach as a key means
of narrowing the achievement gap and giving young people access to a
curriculum that leads directly to employment opportunities.
Professional educators and their organizations were largely absent from the education summits, and complaints against policy shifts that encouraged «
narrowing of the
curriculum» and «teaching to the test» began to crop up.
The report, part
of a book
of essays entitled «The Future
of Assessment: 2025 and Beyond», suggests that current trends in the education sector are «
narrowing the
curriculum and focusing on those students whose performance has the greatest impact on the headline accountability measures».
• First, efforts to develop a civics
curriculum are snagged by a basic truth about America: beyond a
narrow core
of shared beliefs (honesty, tolerance, obeying the law), Americans hold strong but often divergent views about the values they want their children to acquire and about the role
of teachers and schools in inculcating those values.
And as well as being
of questionable effectiveness, incentive schemes often result in unintended and undesirable behaviours on the part
of teachers and schools, ranging from the
narrowing of the school
curriculum, to withholding less able students from testing, to providing inappropriate assistance to students during tests.
Particularly in urban schools, the pressure from testing has
narrowed the
curriculum to focus on those subjects on which graduation and accreditation rest — at the expense
of art, music, theater, physical education, foreign language, and even science and social studies.