What forces shape the school curriculum? Publishers, teachers, students, parents, administrators, the federal, state, and local governments, colleges and universities, national tests, education commissions and committees, professional organizations, and special interest groups all influence the curriculum. In recent years, standards and statewide testing have been dictating much of what is taught in school.
What are the provisions and criticisms of No Child Left Behind? One of the most far-reaching federal education plans, No Child Left Behind, includes annual testing in reading and math in grades 3–8. Schools must report all student scores as well as the subscores of certain groups based on poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, and limited English proficiency. Underperforming schools must make adequate yearly progress—or they can be closed. All teachers hired by 2005–06 must be "highly qualified," licensed with an academic major in the field they are teaching. Paraprofessionals must have at least two years of college or pass a rigorous test. Parents must be informed if their child's teacher is not "highly qualified." Critics of the program point out many problems: trying to grade an entire education program by standardized tests, measuring wealthy and poor schools with the same test while not providing the necessary resources to improve the poorer schools, lowering state standards to make passing tests easier, and how scores of only a small number of students can "fail" an entire school.
How does the standards movement influence what is taught in school? The effort to create subject matter standards, or content standards, gained momentum with the National Education Summit held in Charlottesville in 1989, and provided the states with direction in terms of what should be included in the curriculum. In mathematics, national standards were quickly developed. But in more value-laden disciplines like history, arguments and disagreements erupted over what should be included. While most Americans believe standards will enhance learning, by the beginning of the twenty-first century, concern arose regarding performance standards and standardized testing.
What are the concerns with high-stakes testing? There are numerous criticisms aimed at high-stakes tests. At-risk students are placed at greater risk, errors on tests persist, dropouts increase, high scores do not necessarily reflect greater learning, teachers teach-to-the-test and the curriculum is narrowed, teacher stress increases and what is considered critical information varies over time.
How can we rethink curriculum and testing? The reader is invited to consider what knowledge endures and should be the focus of schools, and the authors suggest a four-tier curriculum that promotes self-understanding, human relations, and greater individualization. Rather than "high-stakes" tests, a variety of assessment tools is recommended. One of these, authentic assessment, evaluates students by asking them to synthesize what they have learned in a final product or "exhibit."
How do textbook publishers and state adoption committees "drive" the curriculum? More than twenty states, mainly located in the South and West, are textbook adoption states, and local school districts must select their texts from an official, state-approved list. A few populous states exert considerable influence as these books are developed. Textbooks represent a compromise, and many believe they are poorly written and do not reflect the subtleties of controversies in a subject area.
What are the seven forms of bias in instructional materials? Seven forms of bias can characterize textbooks: invisibility, stereotyping, imbalance and selectivity, unreality, fragmentation and isolation, linguistic bias, and cosmetic bias. These forms of bias can work against a group's race, ethnicity, gender, age, or (dis)ability.
How do religious differences impact school curricular materials? Controversies over religious fundamentalism and secular humanism have characterized textbook adoption in recent years. In some communities, these controversies have led to book banning and censorship. Teachers do not always appreciate the difference between teaching about religion and promoting a religious belief. As a result, some teachers promote their beliefs, while many others avoid the topic entirely.
Why are schoolbooks so frequently the targets of censorship? Censorship can emanate from the political left or right. Liberals argue against books that defame or omit certain racial, ethnic, or other groups. Conservatives, particularly religious fundamentalists, target books and ideas that conflict with their values. The censors have targeted even some of the most popular books, from Shakespeare to the Harry Potter series. The line between "selecting" and "censoring" is not always clear. Many teachers, fearful of censorship attacks, follow a path of stealth or self-censorship, avoiding books and topics that could be controversial.
Should the curriculum focus on teaching a core knowledge or focus on the demands of a changing world? Proponents of a core curriculum and cultural literacy, such as E. D. Hirsch, feel that it will benefit the disadvantaged and transmit the culture essential for well-educated citizens. Multiculturalists, such as James Banks, argue that most examples of cultural literacy minimize the roles, experiences, and contributions of women and people of color.
