I know we have some national standards (in Math and Science). What I don't understand is why we don't have a national curriculum and ONE national test to measure growth. I realize that originally, education was supposed to be set by each state. However, as our world grows in technology, it has become a smaller and more communicable place. It is time we all have the same objectives in our teaching and the same evaluation of that teaching.
How can they compare our students test scores when we don't take the same test? That is like comparing my reading scores with someone elses math scores. They are not the same thing at all. We need the powers that be to stand up and use ONE test to measure learning. Would it put a few test-making companies out of business? Heck yes. But that is the way it goes in education. We had a scandal here in this state some years ago when it was discovered that one of our new state assessments was created by a company (at a high cost) that was a friend of the person in charge of education. This would certainly put an end to that nonsense.
If we are going to compare our students to students of other states and really discover where our weaknesses are, we need to be using the same measurement tool. It would also help when students move from one place to another.
How would this impact the textbook companies? They would either have to update their books to national standards and produce materials acceptable to the states and districts or go out of business as well. It is nice having many different books to peruse to see what will work for your district but it is also rediculous to not have the same standard in every state and to hold them accountable for covering those standards.
Right now, the state of Arizona has so many standards that a professional data researcher said they couldn't be covered if they went to school every single day of the week all year long. No holidays or weekends. How can a state have standards like that? We aren't allowed to pick and choose. We are suppose to "cover" the standards set by the state.
I have a sister who teaches in another state and she says she thinks it would be a good idea too. We realize that our kids are very different. But, the standards and measurements should be the same for both. If we had access to the exact same curriculum and standards, then we could say, "My students are doing well, but I need to work on______. That is where we tested lower than the national average." We would really know which states need extra help from the federal government.
And one more thing that really bugs me...Why do we all seem to think that "average" is bad? Average is just a range where a majority of the people are. It is not a bad thing to be average. If a C is average, then it should be rewarded as much as a B or an A. It is supposed to be passing. It is average. If we don't want a 70-79% to be the average, then we need to change the standard to something else. I think a C is just fine. I want my students to know that a C is something to celebrate. We are pressuring our students to believe that average is not acceptable! It is. Over 50% of the worlds population is average. There is nothing wrong with that. It means you are like other people. Schools are pushing and pushing for the all A kids. Not all kids can make A's. If they do, then the standard is wrong and it has been set way too low.
Okay, I'm done.