DEFINING WHAT STUDENTS SHOULD LEARN:
A STATE BY STATE REVIEW
~ American Federation of Teachers recommends
two options for states to improve their standards ~
April 2008
Some states are making discernible
progress in writing clear, specific, content-focused
standards that define what students are expected to
learn in every grade or course in English, math, science
and social studies, according to a report released today
by the American Federation of Teachers, which also offers
advice for states whose standards need improvement.
In its latest review of state
standards, "Sizing Up State Standards 2008," the AFT
used new, more rigorous criteria because it is so important
that states clearly define what students are expected
to learn. For the 2008 report, states met the AFT criteria
if their standards were clear, specific and content-focused.
Sixteen states have the highest
scores for their standards, with Virginia leading the
group with a score of 100 percent. The report also finds
that Arkansas, Indiana and Louisiana made dramatic improvements
over the years, even with the AFT's more challenging
criteria.
While some states are demonstrating
dramatic improvement in the quality of their standards,
far too many states are lagging behind. The AFT found
that 35 states have inferior standards overall, including
seven that lack clear standards for any grade or subject-Colorado,
Illinois, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and
Wisconsin.
The AFT recommends two options
to remedy this persistent, but fixable, situation. Either
a state can use top-rated standards as a model, or states
within a region can get together as a consortium to
jointly develop standards, curricula and assessments.
Either way, it's time for states to get this right.
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