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The Factors that Contribute to the “Best Cases” of Standards‐Based Reform
Author(s) -
John Mark St.,
Pratt Harold
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
school science and mathematics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.135
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 1949-8594
pISSN - 0036-6803
DOI - 10.1111/j.1949-8594.1997.tb17281.x
Subject(s) - national science education standards , curriculum , learning standards , face (sociological concept) , process (computing) , odds , best practice , politics , mathematics education , academic standards , state (computer science) , education reform , professional development , political science , computer science , sociology , psychology , pedagogy , mathematics , higher education , education policy , primary education , statistics , operating system , social science , logistic regression , algorithm , law
This article summarizes a study of the ways in which and the extent to which states and local school districts are pursuing standards‐based reform in mathematics and science education. In particular, it presents a few common features of the “best cases” of states and districts using the national documents to guide their own improvement efforts. In particular, we found that standards‐based reform is a highly personal process and very dependent on the strength of local leadership; we also found that, in the best cases, the standards were not “implemented” per se, but were used as tools for promoting deeper and more reflective approaches to setting state and district standards, creating assessments, selecting curriculum, and designing professional development. Additionally, we learned that the notion of standards‐based reform is not singular but, rather, it has both an educational and political face, often at odds with one another. Finally, we found the degree to which standards‐based reform becomes a reality is very dependent on the overall health and functionality of the systems that are seeking to transform themselves.