What's at Stake in the K-12 Standards Wars : A Primer for Educational Policy Makers

by Stotsky, Sandra

• ISBN13: 9780820444901
• ISBN10: 0820444901
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Peter Lang Pub Inc

Summary

This collection of essays addresses the issues that have arisen in the development and implementation of national and state standards in science, mathematics, history, economics, and the English language arts from the perspective of scholars in those disciplines. These scholars are writing not for other scholars in their field but for those who help shape K-12 educational policy - legislators, members of boards of education, and those who teach courses in government or education policy making. The purpose of this collection is to clarify what is at stake in the standards wars and in standards-based systemic reform.

Author Biography

Sandra Stotsky is Research Associate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received her Ed.D. in Reading from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. vii
Preface: Sandra Stotsky	p. xiii
Questions of Content and Pedagogy
In Mathematics
The 1997 Mathematics Standards War in California	p. 3
Judging State Standards for K-12 Mathematics Education	p. 33
Standards-Based Mathematics Assessments: Appearances May Be Deceiving	p. 59
In Science
National Science Standards: Where is the Evidence Supporting Them?	p. 79
The Science Standards Wars: What Is the Basis for Scientific Inquiry?	p. 99
How Children Learn Science: Do We Now Know?	p. 115
In History and Economics
Why the Battle over History Standards?	p. 149
Discipline-Based Economics Standards: Opportunity and Obstacles	p. 169
In the English Language Arts
The English Language Arts in American Schools: Problems and Proposals	p. 211
The State of Literary Study in National and State English Language Arts Standards: Why It Matters and What Can Be Done about It	p. 237
Toward Improved English Language Arts Standards for K-12: What a College Professor Wishes Her Students Had Read	p. 259
The Influence of Federal Purse Strings
Lessons from the Sputnik-Era Curriculum Reform Movement: The Institutions We Need for Educational Reform	p. 281
The National Science Foundation Systemic Initiatives: How a Small Amount of Federal Money Promotes Ill-Designed Mathematics and Science Programs in K-12 and Undermines Local Control of Education	p. 313
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