I have always known that I have trouble making a decision and sticking to it. I am one of those people that listen to an argument and think, "Yeah, I can see why they think that" and then listens to the counter argument and thinks the same thing. It is this "middle of the road" position I find myself in now in regards to the direction my school is taking with their curriculum.
We have been listening to our superintendent talk about standards based education and how we need to make sure all students are being successful. He talks about how some students need more time and that they should be allowed that time instead of passed on from grade to grade when they are not ready. In light of so many of our students not passing standardized tests, this is his solution to increase both teacher and student accountability.
In reading several articles posted on our class Moodle, I have now been exposed to the counter argument. More standards are not what we need, the U.S. is trying to catch up to schools that are in developing countries and are ultimately trying to catch up to us. We are working backwards instead of forwards. We need more focus on HOW to think and solve problems creatively instead of more tests.
I am more confused than ever now because I can see where both parties come from. I can see needing to be accountable for making sure each student has the tools they need to be successful and I can see that we aren't going to get there with more testing. My favorite quote that I got out of a class I took last semester was, "You don't get a sheep to gain weight by weighing it more often." So, out of frustration, I yell to the sky, "What is the right answer???"
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Having known Ed for about three weeks now, I'm confident that his answer will be one word.
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I am in the same boat as you - I see both sides of the argument every time, which is perhaps why I am a peaceful person. I've decided that my New Year's resolution, starting with this class, is to be more decisive. That being said... I have no idea which is better, standards or no!
Love the quote!
One of the great things about the field of education is that there is not one answer that fits all. It seems to me that there is a difference between implementing standards and implementing a high stakes system of "assessing learning" through the use of standardized testing as your driving criteria for success.
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