ERIC Number: ED387867
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 91
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-942469-08-9
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Improving Education through Standards-Based Reform. A Report by the National Academy of Education Panel on Standards-Based Education Reform.
McLaughlin, Milbrey W.; Shepard, Lorrie A.
Standards-based reform calls for the setting of challenging standards in academic subject areas as an important means of improving student achievement. In 1994, Congress passed the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which enacted the education goals into law and provided resources for the development of standards and assessments. This report offers recommendations for the implementation of standards-based reform and outlines possible consequences for policy changes. It summarizes both the vision and intentions of standards-based reform and the arguments of its critics. Recommendations regarding the following elements in a system of standards and assessments are offered: content standards, performance standards, opportunity-to-learn standards, and assessments. The report advocates a cautious, "learn-as-you-go" approach to implementing standards-based education reform. Suggestions include: (1) conduct ongoing research on standards-based education; (2) establish a national or quasi-national organization to inform standards-based efforts across disciplines and states; and (3) address systemic inequities. A glossary of terms is included. (LMI)
Descriptors: Academic Standards, Access to Education, Competency Based Education, Educational Improvement, Elementary Secondary Education, Evaluation Criteria, National Standards, Performance, Program Implementation, Student Evaluation
National Academy of Education, Stanford University, CERAS Building, Room 108, Stanford, CA 94305-3084.
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL.; Carnegie Corp. of New York, NY.
Authoring Institution: National Academy of Education, Stanford, CA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A