Rationale Students achieve at higher levels when schools set high standards and expectations and provide multiple opportunities for them to learn. Furthermore, recent research has found that knowledge, achievement, and expertise are due in large part to individual effort rather than innate intelligence, family or socioeconomic background. An underlying principle of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 is the belief that all students are capable of learning at high levels. A Common Core of Learning , curriculum frameworks in all the major disciplines, and academic standards for assessment will affect learning expectations for all students. Realizing these reform goals requires changes in school expectations, curriculum, and instructional strategies.
Every student brings abilities and experiences to the classroom.
By respecting the potential of each student, adopting instructional approaches that accelerate rather than impede academic and vocational learning, and by relating classroom learning to their lives, educators can inspire every student to grow and succeed. With the Education Reform Act setting high expectations and standards of performance for all students, we need to ensure that all students have access to a meaningful and rigorous course of study that prepares them to succeed in the postsecondary educational and work settings of the future. The general track curriculum does not currently realize this goal. Simultaneous shifts in school organization and professional development, innovation in teaching and learning activities that include alternative assessment approaches, and reform of counseling responsibilities must be addressed.