Current Issues in Education: History and Politics of K-12 Education
Current Issues in Education
Debra Austin
EDL 807/History and Politics of K-12 Education
October 22, 2014
Current Issues in Education
Introduction
There are a number of critical issues and controversies in K-12 education today. While there is always room for improvement, the federal and state education departments are continuously developing plans and mandates to make necessary changes. In America, education is available to all, no matter ability or disability or socioeconomic status. The public education system in the United States allows people of diverse backgrounds to come together. However, the educational system in America also suffers many problems, and some believe the quality of education is declining. It is difficult to maintain classrooms conducive to learning. The federal government and state governments both attempt to alleviate some of the issues faced in education. These problems must first be identified in order to be improved. Three critical issues that currently exist in education include high stakes testing, common core curriculum, and the use of social media.
High Stakes Testing Standardized tests are used throughout the country to measure student learning. High stakes tests are those used to measure students’ successes and failures. In the United States, high stakes tests are used for accountability purposes. These tests measure the success or failure of a school as a whole. High stakes tests have been a concern for America’s educational system for over a decade. Because teacher and student accountability is based on these tests, it is important that they measure what they are supposed to measure. Tests should be carefully built and implemented for specific purposes. The board of education should not consider the results of only one test to determine whether or not a student has achieved mastery of the standards. Tests also should be aligned to the state’s core curriculum (Carpenter, 2001). The government has implemented
Debra Austin
EDL 807/History and Politics of K-12 Education
October 22, 2014
Current Issues in Education
Introduction
There are a number of critical issues and controversies in K-12 education today. While there is always room for improvement, the federal and state education departments are continuously developing plans and mandates to make necessary changes. In America, education is available to all, no matter ability or disability or socioeconomic status. The public education system in the United States allows people of diverse backgrounds to come together. However, the educational system in America also suffers many problems, and some believe the quality of education is declining. It is difficult to maintain classrooms conducive to learning. The federal government and state governments both attempt to alleviate some of the issues faced in education. These problems must first be identified in order to be improved. Three critical issues that currently exist in education include high stakes testing, common core curriculum, and the use of social media.
High Stakes Testing Standardized tests are used throughout the country to measure student learning. High stakes tests are those used to measure students’ successes and failures. In the United States, high stakes tests are used for accountability purposes. These tests measure the success or failure of a school as a whole. High stakes tests have been a concern for America’s educational system for over a decade. Because teacher and student accountability is based on these tests, it is important that they measure what they are supposed to measure. Tests should be carefully built and implemented for specific purposes. The board of education should not consider the results of only one test to determine whether or not a student has achieved mastery of the standards. Tests also should be aligned to the state’s core curriculum (Carpenter, 2001). The government has implemented
References: Carpenter, S. (2001). The high stakes of educational testing: Psychologists and education experts discussed concerns about fairness and accuracy in large-scale educational testing at a March congressional briefing Cooper, D. (2010). Talk About Assessment: High School Strategies and Tools. Toronto: Nelson Education Darling-Hammond, L., Wilhoit, G., and Pittenger, L. (2014). Accountability for college and career readingess: Devoloping a new paradigm Guisbond, L. (2012). NCLB’s lost decade for educational progress: What can we learn from this policy failure? National Center for Fair and Open Testing, 24 pp. Kong, S.C., et.al. (2014). E-learning in school education in the coming 10 years for developing 21st century skills: Critical research issues and policy implications Mallan, K.M., Singh, P., and Giardina, N. (2010). The challenges of participatory research with ‘tech-savvy’ youth Nichols, S.L., Glass, G.V., and Berliner, D.C. (2012). High stakes testing and student achievement: Updated analyses with NAEP data