Reform efforts result in what?

I found this short article on Larry Cuban’s sight to be closely aligned with my concerns about state and national reform and again made me reflect on our the future. The article references a federal study mapping state proficiency standards against NAEP scores. The study compares state proficiency scores in grades 4 and 8 in reading and math against the predicted NAEP score to determine if states are lowering proficiency standards in the face of the negative consequences of NCLB.

The topic reinforces for me the concern I have with the focus on common core standards, assessments, and more seat time in the form of additional credits for graduation. These seem to be what we hear from in the other Washington and is certainly embedded in our state’s move to Core 24. We will need to wait to find out what will happen in the next legislative session when congress takes up revisions to ESEA, but the current discussions signal more of the same.

When will there be a better balance of “basic skills” being pushed by these current reform efforts ad what we have learned are essential skills for young people to experience success in post high school learning and work? Are people in positions of authority at the national and state level reading books such as Pink’s A Whole New Mind, Zhao’s Catching Up or Leading the Way, Friedman’s The World Is Flat, and Wagner’s The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need - and What We Can Do About It,? If yes, then why does the focus continue to be on more of the same which leads to what Rona Wilensky describes in the Cuban article and that is reinforced in these books?

I believe that we have found this balance in our Classroom 10 initiative and that we must find ways to maintain focus during the next round of federal and state changes. Engaging young people in the learning focus of Classroom 10 will provide them with the basic skills and the enhanced skills that position them for success and that will open many doors not available to those with a focus on only Core 24 learning.

Before closing, here is a shot of my grandson flying his first kite. Couldn’t be better!