West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 126 - Education › Title 126 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Series 126-011B - Learning At A High Level For All Students (2001) › Section 2.0 - Curriculum and Instruction

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
2.1
introduction
The West Virginia Board of Education hereby establishes a
				  system of education to ensure that the instruction provided to all students in
				  West Virginia enables them to learn basic skills as the foundation for
				  acquisition of the academic, technical and increased thinking skills needed for
				  success.
This system of education places a premium on curriculum and
				  instructional practices that recognize that students develop at different rates
				  and learn in different ways. Such a system requires that students succeed from
				  the day they begin school. This, in turn, requires that schools restructure
				  themselves, if necessary, so that student success becomes the measure of school
				  effectiveness.
This system of education does not minimize the
				  contribution to be made by any program of study. Rather, it requires that they
				  be inter-related and focused on student success in acquiring the skills needed
				  for satisfactory learning performance.
This system of education requires that time spent learning by
				  students becomes a variable, not the absolute end, in the learning process.
				  Schools and school systems should, without lowering expectations for some
				  students, and without reducing advanced academic opportunities for other
				  students, provide flexibility in the scheduling of instruction for students who
				  learn at different rates.
Students, families and citizens can expect that such a system
				  of education will provide students with:
* knowledge of the basic skills
* continued academic growth based on knowledge of the basic
				  skills
* increased thinking skills arising from academic
				  growth
* the level of academic and technical knowledge needed for
				  the workplace or for further education
Concretely, this system of education seeks to accomplish the
				  following:
* students will, for each year in school, make measurable
				  progress in basic skills knowledge and/or academic growth and/or technical
				  knowledge; specifically, students at the elementary level will achieve at grade
				  level in the basic skills of reading, writing, mathematics and be literate in
				  the use of computers.
* students will complete high school with aa
a
				  minimum
achievement level of
at least
the
				  50th percentile on a selected standardized achievement measure for the receipt
				  of the warranty.
2.2
Programs of Study
Programs of study are the subject matter that will be taught
				  in the public schools in West Virginia.
The programs of study are:
* English language arts: reading, writing, speaking,
				  listening, spelling, handwriting and viewing. Viewing includes media literacy
				  in the areas of television, film, and computer technology.
* Mathematics and science: with an emphasis on experiential
				  learning, to include quantitative reasoning, problem solving, scientific
				  literacy, technology, the use and comprehension of data, and computer
				  literacy.
* Social studies/humanities, to include citizenship,
				  American, world and West Virginia history, civics, economics, and geography, as
				  well as service to others, respect for work and the responsibilities of
				  democracy.
* The arts: dance, music, theatre and visual arts, to provide
				  an understanding and appreciation of the art forms and their role in cultural
				  heritage; and to develop an ability to express one's own concepts in an art
				  form.
* Wellness: health, physical education, to include a
				  comprehensive approach combining physical fitness and general health
				  information, substance abuse education, and AIDS education.
* Foreign languages, to include speaking, listening, writing,
				  reading, and literature in the foreign language; to aid in students' use of
				  English; and to aid in their knowledge and understanding of other
				  cultures.
* Technical studies, to include an understanding of the role
				  of technology, especially computers, in society, the ability to apply
				  technology in the completion of tasks within specific occupational areas, and
				  the development of technical competence at levels needed for daily independent
				  living (e.g., home economics), entering the workplace and continuing
				  education.
County boards of education will design programs of study
				  based on the curriculum frameworks outlined in Section 2.3 so that
the end result of the inter-relationship of the programs of study
				  is that
students acquire basic skills in reading, writing,
				  mathematics and computer literacy as a foundation for further academic success
				  and the acquisition of increased thinking skills.
The arts, along
				  with the other programs of study, should be considered essential to the
				  development of basic skills and can provide the opportunity for students to
				  develop creative thinking skills
.
Schools may, in implementing programs of study, exceed the
				  requirements of county board designed programs of study. Schools must utilize
				  flexibility in scheduling and instruction so that students who complete the
				  programs of study will have met the instructional goals and not simply have
				  completed a certain number of minutes in specific courses.
West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2510,
Assuring the Quality of Education: Regulations for General.
				  Vocational and Special Education Programs
, remains in effect. The
				  Board will, however, review that policy to make certain that all students in
				  West Virginia have access to the full range of programs of study necessary for
				  acquisition of the basic skills, academic growth, and technical proficiency,
				  and to make certain that county boards of education, in designing programs of
				  study, and schools, in implementing programs of study, have flexibility to meet
				  the unique needs of the students they serve.
It is necessary to specify the ways in which the programs of
				  study will be individualized for students who require an individualized
				  Education Program (lEP).
2.3
Curriculum Frameworks
Curriculum frameworks are those policies, adopted by the West
				  Virginia Board of Education, that outline the nature of the curriculum to be
				  offered and list the instructional goals and objectives for each of the
				  programs of study.
These curriculum frameworks have been and will be developed
				  using the knowledge and expertise of parents, teachers, principals, curriculum
				  specialists, superintendents and board members in West Virginia. The
				  recommendations and practices of other states and of national boards and
				  associations will also be considered as the curriculum frameworks are developed
				  and/or revised.
West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2520,
The
				  Criteria of Excellence: instaictional Goals and Objectives
,
				  remains in effect. The Board will revise Policy 2520 and the current
				  instructional goals and objectives for the various programs of study so that
				  they provide clearly defined and easily understood outlines (frameworks) for
				  the development of county board of education programs of study.
2.4
Instruction
County school systems and individual schools will be expected
				  to revise or enhance their instructional practices so that learning at a high
				  level for all students becomes the norm in West Virginia.
Teachers must exercise professional judgment to tailor
				  instructional practices to meet the needs of students. These practices should
				  include, but are not limited to:
* Demonstrating an emphasis on learning, classroom
				  organization and management skills, questioning techniques, student research,
				  and communication skills to meet the needs of individual learners.
* Emphasizing reading, writing, speaking, listening,
				  spelling, handwriting and viewing in all subjects and computer literacy.
* Using organizational strategies such as teach/reteach to
				  ensure attainment of basic skills.
* Making computers and other technologies available to
				  provide opportunities for instruction, both individually and within
				  groups.
* Selecting and using multiple types of instructional
				  materials and educational technologies, including original sources and/or
				  handbooks. Reading comprehension in selection and use of instructional
				  materials remains key.
* Providing variations in time, materials, settings, and
				  instructional methods for each student.
2.5
Articulation
Students progress through school with needs that differ with
				  age and maturity.
It is the intent of this policy that the education process
				  for West Virginia students be a seamless one. There are, however, certain
				  levels in a student's teaming process that suggest differing needs, especially
				  for instructional purposes.
These differing needs must be addressed so that students
				  acquire the basic skills necessary for academic success at each level. It is
				  crucial that students learn the basic skills of reading, writing, mathematics
				  and computer literacy prior to the completion of grade four.
It is also imperative that counties and schools, in
				  delivering the programs of study, provide adequate communication and planning
				  by staff as students move from level to level and from school to school.
2.6
Technology
Delivery of the programs of study and the acquisition of
				  basic skills leading to advanced academic and technical knowledge can be
				  significantly enhanced through the use of available and emerging
				  technologies.
County boards of education and schools are strongly
				  encouraged to use and to provide access to these technologies for all teachers
				  and students. The West Virginia Board of Education will provide continued
				  leadership in the educational applications of technology.
2.7
Graduation Requirements
The requirements of Policy 2444.01,
Graduation
				  Requirements for West Virginia Public Schools: Adolescent Education (Grades
				  9-12
, remain in effect until modified by the West Virginia Board
				  of Education.
The Board will review the time requirements associated with
				  current North Central accrediting regulations with the intent of making time
				  the variable and not the constant in student learning in West Virginia.
With time as the variable, some students may finish high
				  school in three years, some in five or more years, it is more important that
				  students learn at a high level than that they spend a fixed amount of time in
				  school.
2.8
Certificates of Proficiency and Warranty
The use of certificates of proficiency and the provision of
				  warranties are methods by which schools assure families, employers, and
				  post-secondary educational institutions that students have achieved a
certain
level of proficiency on a standardized
				  achievement test.
Schools are to award a warranty as a guarantee to employers
				  and post-secondary educational institutions that the graduate is capable of
				  accomplishing tasks at or above the level listed on the certificate of
				  proficiency. If employers or educational institutions determine that the
				  graduate who has received a
warranty
does not perform
				  at the stated level of proficiency, that graduate may return to the graduating
				  school at no cost to receive additional schooling in the area(s) lacking
				  proficiency. The warranty is in effect for five years after a student's
				  graduation.
County school systems must establish the proficiency level
				  for issuance of the warranty at a minimum level of the 50th percentile on a
				  standardized achievement measure selected by the West Virginia Board of
				  Education.
This means that the student will have achieved a score
				  on a nationally normed test
at
a level equal to or higher than
				  the average student nationally
. Students may graduate without
				  receiving a certificate of proficiency. In such case, the student may enroll in
				  adult classes or the high school or wherever in order to prepare to write the
				  proficiency test again. The student may write the proficiency test as needed in
				  order to demonstrate competency.
Levels of proficiency for identified exceptional students may
				  be determined by the Individualized Education Program (lEP) Committee and
				  included in the student's lEP. in such cases where the students are employed
				  they are at the discretion of the employer.