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##  Standards: The Policy Environment. ERIC Digest, Number 138.                  

The phrase "higher standards" has become a rallying cry for avid                school reformers and politicians alike. A broad coalition of                    constituencies have embraced standards-based reform as a means of               improving public schools' accountability, preparing a globally                  competitive work force, and decreasing the achievement gap among                various racial ethnic groups (Orfield and Wald 2000). 
Equally                 vocal groups are arguing that the tough standards movement is                   flunking too many students and detracting from classroom                        learning. 
This Digest offers a snapshot of the standards movement:            its origins, its successes at the district and state levels, the                backlash against the movement, and possible policy                              directions. WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS AND STATUS OF NATIONAL                       STANDARDS?Efforts to establish national standards and tests grew            out of several key developments, such as adaptation of President                Bush's and the nation's governors' six national education                       goals (1989), establishment of the National Council on Education                Standards and Testing (1991), and Congress's enactment of the Goals             2000: Educate America Act (1994) (Wraga 1999). Although the Clinton             Administration has been trying to develop "voluntary" national tests            since 1997, most experts agree that the national-standards debate is            over (Doyle 999). 
Action on standards continues at the state                  level, where standards are "quietly going national," thanks to                  interstate comparisons on the Achieve, Inc. website (Doyle). Wraga              believes states "have acceded to national policy" by accepting                  federal funding to align state curriculum frameworks with existing              standardized test content or with "state-developed                              criterion-referenced exams." 
Scott Thompson (1999) points out that            the movement is not monolithic and that districts are developing                their own highly individualized performance standards and allowing              students adequate time to master them. Critics like Orfield and Wald            say the standards movement has been "reduced to a single                        policy-high-stakes testing" linking one set of standardized test                scores to promotion, high-school graduation, and even educator                  salaries and tenure decisions. 
According to Achieve, Inc. (2000),             an advocacy group comprised of state governors and corporate CEOs,              38 states that participated in the October 1999 Education Summit                have renewed their commitment to the standards agenda. The group has            vowed to host national forums to tackle persistent                              challenges: "improving educator quality, helping all students reach             high standards, and strengthening accountability." 
Every state                except Iowa has adopted K-12 content standards; 26 are developing or            already employing high-school exit exams; and "19 publicly identify             failing schools" (Nina and Sol Hurwitz 2000). Four                              states (California, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio) are launching                   initiatives to compensate teachers for choosing certain academic                specialties or teaching at disadvantaged schools, and 13 states have            new programs to reward highly effective schools (Achieve,                       Inc.). WHAT DEFINES STANDARDS AND WHICH ONES MATTER?There is              considerable agreement on standards for standards. Proponents say               standards "should be grounded in core academic disciplines and                  should cover what students should know... and be able to do" (Gratz             2000). Standards dictate ends, not means, and should not prescribe              teaching methods, classroom strategies, or lesson plans. Standards              should be rigorous and world-class, enjoy broad public support, and             be aligned with appropriate and valid assessments. 
Berger (2000)              isolates several types of standards: overarching or district                    standards; content and student-performance standards;                           school-delivery standards; and system-delivery standards. Emphasis              should be on high expectations for all students; equal learning                 opportunities; applied understanding, not coverage; and individual              students' work, not grades or cross-school and cross-student                    comparisons (Thompson, Gratz, Berger). ARE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS              BEING SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED?States and school districts with             the most successful high-stakes testing records have maintained                 bipartisan political and business support, stimulated systemwide                reform, and addressed the achievement of their lowest-performing                students (Hurwitzes). 
Texas, a turnaround state whose student                 population is half African-American and Hispanic, is a good example.            Minority students' scores on national math and reading assessments              outranked those of most other states in 1996 and 1998; scores for               all students on the Texas Assessment of Academic skills improved for            the fourth straight year. Experts agree that Texas high schools have            not improved so drastically and that minority dropout rates are                 increasing (Orfield and Wald). 
During the 1990s, only Colorado and            Connecticut made significant progress on consistently administered              NAEP math and reading tests (Jerald 2000). The few states making                headway on these exams (Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, and                 Kentucky) are education policy pace-setters. 
Eagle Rock School and            Professional Development Center in Estes Park, Colorado, exemplifies            standards-based learning, according to Director Lois Easton. This               alternative school "enrolls high-school students who have not been              successful in other academic programs and holds them to the same                high achievement expected of all students in the state's model                  content standards." 
Scott Thompson has visited entire districts               engaged in collaborative, systemic, standards-based change,                     including those in Aurora, Colorado; New York City's Community                  School District 2; Edmonds, Washington; Memphis, Tennessee; and                 districts belonging to the El Paso (Texas) Collaborative for                    Academic Excellence. 
Chicago, the first urban district to end                 social promotion, has succeeded in raising the bar gradually; the               district provides summer remedial programs for students who fail the            Iowa Test of Basic Skills. However, curricula and expectations for              high-schoolers are below par (Hurwitzes 2000). 
New York City has              experienced disappointment with student test performance, scoring               errors, and glitches in its mandatory summer programs. The state's              tough new Regents exams may have to be "scaled down" so that more               students can pass them. IS THERE A BASIS FOR A BACKLASH?Some              parents, students, educators, and other stakeholders are alarmed by             unintended consequences of imperfectly designed and implemented                 standards-based programs. Some states "are using tests in ways that             directly contradict the recommendations of the National Academy of              Sciences, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, and             other experts," who advise that "one-shot assessments" should never             determine major decisions about a student's academic future (Orfield            and Wald). 
Louisiana, the first state to use high-stakes test                 scores to retain thousands of elementary and middle-school students,            is ignoring that advice, and Delaware, Ohio, and South Carolina will            soon follow suit (Robelen 2000). 
Civil-rights advocates claim that            most high-stakes testing policies, particularly those linking single            standardized assessment scores to promotion and graduation,                     discriminate against minority youth, hamstring teachers, reduce                 complex learning opportunities, and punish victims, not                         perpetrators, of educational inequities (Orfield and Wald). 
In                response to increased testing pressures, many educators are "piling             on homework, abolishing recess for young children, cheating on                  tests, flunking more students, teaching to the tests, and seeking to            rid themselves of low performers," claims Gratz. Stressed-out                   students and teachers are an inevitable consequence, unless                     principals act as buffers and parents become activists (Kohn                    website). 
Parents, students, and teachers in Florida, Louisiana,              Ohio, and Texas are fueling a movement to abolish standards-based               programs (Gehring 2000). U.S. Secretary of Education William Riley              recently advised states to undertake a "midcourse review" of                    standards progress to address opponents' concerns (Bradley                      2000). WHAT ARE SOME POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS FOR POLICY AND                       PRACTICE?In July 2000, at the American Federation of Teachers'              biennial conference in Philadelphia, Riley echoed AFT president                 Sandra Feldman's concerns that policymakers have raised standards               too quickly for both students and teachers and that states                      are "rushing to put assessments into place" (Bradley). 
A report               from the National Dropout Center recommends that states use their               rigorous new standards "to develop interventions that provide                   teachers with the skills and knowledge required to teach to the                 higher standards and [provide] students with additional                         opportunities" to attain them (Duttweiler and McEvoy 1999). The                 center advocates that interventions "be in place for a sufficient               time before accountability measures are enforced" and that schools              increase their "holding power" by creating a highly motivational,               achievement-oriented climate. 
Feldman claims that secondary                   teachers need considerable assistance in learning how to address                struggling students' skill deficits. She proposes that "older                   students be guaranteed after-school and summer school programs" and             a transitional year to learn basic skills (from specially trained               teachers) required for graduation (Bradley). 
States pushing for               higher standards must provide massive funding for the remedial,                 tutoring, and professional-development programs needed to enhance               students' success, says Gratz. As of early 1999, only 11 states                 offered such funding (Gratz). 
More research is needed on the                  merits of experimental standards-based programs like Eagle Rock's.              Lessons might be learned from Iowa and from public and private                  schools whose students perform well in the absence of state-imposed             standards (Thompson). 
Drawing on pioneering districts' initial                successes, the Hurwitzes advise educators to make learning (not                 testing) the goal, provide special assistance for disadvantaged                 students, set realistic failure rates, invest in wide-ranging                   reforms, make retention a last resort, capitalize on publicity, and             concentrate on urban high schools. 
Standards have great reform                potential if educators "design them appropriately, implement them               fairly, provide help rather than punishment, and recognize                      improvement for students from their various                                     starting-places" (Gratz). RESOURCESAchieve, Inc. "Achieve to              Post Summit Responses on Web Site, Plans National Forums on Toughest            Challenges." www.achieve.org 
Berger, Jeff. "Does Top-Down,                    Standards-Based Reform Work? A Review of the Status of Statewide                Standards-Based Reform." NASSP Bulletin 84, 612 (January 2000):                 57-65. EJ 537 117. 
Bradley, Ann. "Union Heads Issue Standards                 Warnings." Education Week on the Web 19, 42 (July 12, 2000):                    1,20-21. 
Doyle, Denis P. "De Facto National Standards." Education             Week on the Web (July 14, 1999): 4 pages. 
Duttweiler, Patricia                Cloud; and McEvoy, Undine. Do We Have the Cart Before the                       Horse? (Report #1). Clemson, SC: National Dropout Center, Clemson               University, Spring 1999. 16 pages. 
Easton, Lois E. "If Standards              Are Absolute.." Education Week on the Web (April 12, 2000): 5                   pages. 
Gehring, John. "Students Boycott Tests in Mass. to Protest             Emphasis on Exams." Education Week on the Web (May 27, 2000): 3                 pages. 
Gratz, Donald B. "High Standards for Whom?" Phi Delta                  Kappan 81, 9 (May 2000): 681-87. EA 537 202. 
Hurwitz, Nina, and               Sol Hurwitz. "Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning?  American            School Board Journal (January 2000): 20-25. 
Jerald, Craig D. "The             State of the States." Education Week on the Web (January 13, 2000):             4 pages. 
Orfield, Gary; Wald, Johanna. "Testing, Testing." The                Nation 270, 22 (June 5, 2000): 38-40. 
Robelen, Erik E. "La. Set to            Retain 4th, 8th Graders Based on State Exams." Education Week on the            Web (June 3, 2000): 4 pages. 
Thompson, Scott. "Confessions of                 a 'Standardisto'." Education Week on the Web (October 6, 1999): 5               pages. 
Wraga, William G. "The Educational and Political                       Implications of Curriculum Alignment and Standards-Based Reform."               Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 15, 1 (Fall 1999): 4-25. EJ               594                                                                             857. 
WEBSITES 
http://www.achieve.org 
http//www.alfiekohn.org              
http://www.edweek.org 
This publication was prepared with funding            from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S.                   Department of Education. The ideas and opinions expressed in the                Digest do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI,            ED, or the Clearinghouse.  This Digest is in the public domain and              may be freely reproduced.                                                    **Title:** Standards: The Policy Environment. ERIC Digest, Number 138.                  **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 5207 University of                Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5207. For full text:                                   http://eric.uoregon.edu.                                                     **Descriptors:**  Academic Standards,  Accountability,  Educational Change,                      Elementary Secondary Education, Learning Experience,  Public                    Schools,  Racial Differences                                                 **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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