March 10, 2010 in Nation/World, Region

New national math, English standards drafted

Associated Press

Tags:educationEnglishmathnational standards

SEATTLE — Math and English instruction in the United States moved a step closer to uniform — and more rigorous — standards Wednesday as draft new national guidelines were released.

Supporters of the project led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers hope the lists of things kids should learn at each grade level will replace a patchwork of systems across the country.

The effort is expected to lead to standardization of textbooks and testing and make learning easier for students who move from state to state.

The federal government recently opened bidding for $350 million to work on new national tests that would be given to students in states that adopt the national standards.

People involved in the effort endorsed by 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia said the new standards will raise expectations of student achievement in some states and be in line with the educational expectations of top-performing states and countries.

Unlike most efforts to revise standards at a state level, this document was not built on consensus, said Chris Minnich, director of standards and assessment for the Council of Chief State School Officers.

“We really used evidence in an unprecedented fashion,” Minnich said Monday.

In contrast, states that have engaged in consensus-building have not made the tough decisions about what should be contained in the standards and what shouldn’t, Minnich said.

Some have criticized the process, saying adoption of the new standards will not be voluntary.

“First they tried to tie it to Race to the Top money … now they’re trying to tie it to Title I funds,” said Robert Scott, Texas’ commissioner of education.

President Barack Obama told the nation’s governors last month that he wants to make Title I dollars for public schools contingent on adoption of college- and career-ready reading and math standards, but the president said the states would not be required to adopt the coalition’s standards.

Texas and Alaska are the only states not participating in the national standards effort and Texas also opted out of the federal Race to the Top competition for $4.35 billion for education reform.

“Texas has chosen to preserve its sovereign authority to determine what is appropriate for Texas children to learn in its public schools,” Scott wrote in a letter to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “It is clear that the first step toward nationalization of our schools has been put into place.”

The public is invited to comment on the proposed new national standards until April 2, and the developers hope to publish final education goals for K-12 math and English in May.

A glance at the math standards reveals the changes are not dramatic: Kids would still learn to count in kindergarten, not multiply and divide. Minnich said the main improvement is clarity and focus. In that, they follow the trend already set by recent state standards revisions.

Each grade will have fewer goals in each subject area, but each goal goes deeper; the goals are written in plain English with little or no educational jargon; and some learning goals may start to show up earlier than expected.

For example, second graders now are expected to add and subtract triple digit numbers. Fractions start in third grade. And kindergartners are expected to learn to count to 100.

Grade placement of particular topics in both the math and English standards was based on state and international comparisons and the collective professional judgment of educators, researchers and mathematicians.

“These are rigorous standards. These standards are as high as the highest standards that any state has,” said William McCallum, chairman of the math standards committee, math professor and head of the mathematics department at the University of Arizona.

One math expert who was not involved in writing the draft standards questioned the value of moving concepts earlier.

Cathy Seeley, senior fellow at the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, has been involved in the revision of math standards in more than a dozen states. She saw a lot of similarity between the recent state revisions and the national plan.

Seeley, who plans to participate in the public comment period, said she doesn’t think making kids learn things earlier translates into higher standards.

“It’s not that they’re learning it well but too late. It’s that they’re not learning it well,” Seeley said.

The development team worked to resolve differences between those who would like to see math instruction focus on computation and those who prefer the discovery method that focuses on higher-level problem solving. McCallum said the draft standards respect both points of view, calling for both conceptual understanding and computational skills.

“We tried to resolve conflicts and go beyond some of these arguments,” McCallum said. “We listened very hard.”

The draft report also addresses the debate over how much should be expected from immigrants who are just learning English. An introduction to the standards explains that English language learners should be held to the same standards but should be given more time and instructional support to meet the requirements.

Students with disabilities should also be challenged to master as many of the standards as they can, the document argues.

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Nine comments on this story so far. Add yours!

misjustice on March 10 at 9:36 a.m.
Since Alaska and Texas don’t want to participate in the Race to the Top, does that mean they want to participate in the Race to the Bottom?
National standardized learning will help make public education more equal, and also help kids that move from state to state or from district to district. It should also help to ensure that there are not gaps in learning. Additionally, I believe that it will help make our kids more competitive with other developed nations.
Globalization, and the global jobs auction, has put us at a disadvantage with other nations, which typically score higher in math and science. If this program can help us address this inequity, then I am all for it.
spokanada on March 10 at 10:17 a.m.
well said.
force_vector on March 10 at 11:01 a.m.
“Race to the Top” is just a coin phrase to make people say things like you said, misjustice: “does that mean they want to participate in the Race to the Bottom?”. While I don’t neccessarily disagree with the idea, keep in mind that standardized anything will help some, and hurt others. Not all states perform poorly, and some might want to continue with what they are doing if they are having success. But tying this program into federal funding would certainly limit their oprtion to do that. So, things like this have to be examined with a microscope and not be cheeered outright due to a hard-to-disagree-with name.
bdr on March 10 at 11:21 a.m.
Why bother…….we simply cant compete with Chinas unbeatable 89 cents per hour wage.
we need the math wizz however to keep track of the debt once it passes into something beyond 1000 trillion mark.
(whats the next mark) a gazillion?
CharlesBillford on March 10 at 11:42 a.m.
Perhpaps the Goverment should concentrate on its own math skill levels since their Math program is listed below.
Spending > Income = Ownership by foreign hostile interests. = Bankruptcy and fiscal slavery for our kids and grandkids.
So will this become part of or separate of the WASL (Wasting A Students Life?)
“The problem with government is BIG government.” Ronald Reagan
So why isnt the WEA and NEA sponsoring this? Are not they the teachers? Oh I forgot they are too busy supporting Democratic Governors instead of worried about teaching.
misjustice on March 10 at 1:48 p.m.
I meant my Race to the Bottom comment to stand as satire…as humor intended to make us think…geez, lighten up.
The title Race to the Top, did not “make” me do anything…force_vector…and I was not cheering on the suggested program without consideration of the information contained in the article. Hopefully, more details on the proposed program are forthcoming.
I stand by my earlier post…
polistra on March 10 at 2:55 p.m.
The standards are here:
http://www.corestandards.org/Standards/index.htm
I’ve read them and find them surprisingly good, strongly aimed at the skills that will help people live and work better. Lots of emphasis on problem-solving and communication, emphasis on evaluating the quality of your information, not just how to hit the calculator keys.
MUCH better than any previous standards.
Unfortunately, these won’t make any difference unless they’re fully implemented in teacher training programs, and that ain’t gonna happen. Teacher training in universities is Superglued On Stupid, invincibly ignorant.
misjustice on March 10 at 3:02 p.m.
Thank you polistra for the additional information.
Albert on March 10 at 8:37 p.m.
I authored a book on college planning and how to attend on a full free ride. During my research on the SAT, ACT exams, I stumbled upon the JEE, or Joint Entrance Examination for students in India. This is the equivalent to our SAT/ACT. If an American student had a post grad degree in advance mathematics, they might have a chance to pass this India high school level exam. The highest year for SAT scoring was 1967 and the scores have dropped consistently since that date. Out of the entire G8 countries, the United States ranks 8th. in educational standards and results, Japan consistently ranks #1, China #2, Sweden #2, Switzerland #4, etc. My wife is a retired elementary teacher. She was required to teach to the lowest common denominator in her classes to insure that all her students passed onto the next level - nobody was allowed to fail as per District regulations. I am providing these facts as insight into the vast complications that inhabit quality standards within the entire educational systems within the U.S. We have 50 States with 50 distinct educational systems and respective curriculum. This is not the case in Japan, China, Sweden, Switzerland, etc. wherein their is focus, discipline, and commitment. “Races” and “Nobody Left Behind” and…will not substitute for focus, discipline, and commitment by students, parents, educators, and administrators.