Posts Tagged ‘curriculum_narrowing’

Arne the Reader?

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

In his remarks this morning at a meeting to discuss the reauthorization of ESEA, Education Secretary Duncan had this to say:

“Let us build a law that discourages a narrowing of curriculum and promotes a well-rounded education that draws children into sciences and history, languages and the arts in order to build a society distinguished by both intellectual and economic prowess.”

That statement was music to our ears! Curriculum narrowing is one of the most distressing consequences of the No Child Left Behind law. We’ve heard lots of stories about a diminution in time for the arts, sciences, and history, most frequently in states that have high-stakes tests for only math and reading and in schools with disadvantaged populations.

We aren’t necessarily advocating for more testing, particularly if they are of the same quality that most states use today. So, if it the solution is not more tests tied to school accountability, what is it?

How can the ESEA reauthorization discourage curriculum narrowing? What incentives could be established? How about encouraging states to make their reading curriculum content-rich by importing history, civics, and the rest of the liberal arts an sciences into reading lessons?  It would certainly make the study of reading more interesting for students and–most importantly–it is the only proven way to increase reading achievement in a lasting way.

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Straight Talk from Teachers

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Last month Common Core attended the AFT QuEST Conference and spoke with lots of teachers about their experiences in the classroom. An overwhelming majority stated that they, themselves, have had to cut back on teaching subjects and/or topics that are not tested or they have heard about it happening in their schools. Here are a few of the comments we heard:

  • One Illinois teacher stated that if students didn’t score well the previous year, they are pulled from their social studies and science courses to review math and reading skills.
  • A second grade teacher from New York reported that she has not been able to teach much social studies and science because they must ensure they are ready for the 3rd grade math and ELA tests.
  • An art teacher in Georgia was told he has no budget for next year for art supplies, but he does have 500 students.

For their recent report on Federal and State accountability in Washington State, the Center on Education Policy interviewed a number of teachers who corroborate stories of curriculum narrowing as a result of test-driven accountability. Teachers indicated that because of time needed to prepare for tests, there was less time for non-tested subjects or activities. Further, some also noted that they were unable to teach much more than the topics within their subjects that would be tested.

It is clear that students are missing out on a well-rounded education. Can’t we make sure that students receive an education that encompasses the full range of liberal arts and sciences without testing every subject?

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Running in CIRCLEs

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

We’re not quite sure what to think of a new study out today from CIRCLE, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement.  CIRCLE is in part to blame for our confusion because their study is full of mixed messages.  It is titled “Narrowing at the Base:  The American Curriculum after NCLB.”  So it sounds like they found that NCLB has narrowed the curriculum.  But then the executive summary declares:  “NCLB is not mainly responsible for the narrowing trend in elementary school” and “we dissent from the theory that NCLB has directly caused a narrowing of the whole K-12 curriculum.”  Well…okay.

Incoherence aside, we do agree with CIRCLE that the narrowing trend predates NCLB.  It has its roots in the anti-core trends of the 60s, the back-to-basics reaction to the anti-core movement, and the push for STEM.  So, yes, it is a problem with a complicated history.

But there is good reason to think that NCLB has only made matters worse.  When Brown University education professor Martin West looked closely at data on what gets taught from the Dept of Ed’s Schools and Staffing Survey he found that, after NCLB was enacted, elementary school teachers spent 40 minutes more each week on reading and less time on other core subjects including history and science.  You can read West’s paper here: http://www.commoncore.org/liberalarts.php.

We plan to delve deeply into CIRCLE’s research that found a 10-year narrowing trend in the curriculum in grades one through five.  And we applaud their concluding summary statement:  “Narrowing is a trend that deserves public attention as NCLB reauthorization is debated.”  But we don’t understand why an organization so adamantly committed to the idea that NCLB has not narrowed the curriculum would urge us all to use the law’s reauthorization to debate the matter.  Alas, our confusion remains…

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