As can be seen in Charles Doe’s article (Doe, 2008), seemingly endless online platforms competing for the business of schools throughout the country. That being noted, all districts should make an attempt to initiate change. Various grants are available to administrators, supervisors and teachers to enhance their school’s technological resources. This eliminates the excuse “we are a poor district.” The money is available if the district makes the effort. This should not be classified as educational reform, it should be classified as educational activism.

There still is the issue of standards themselves being relevant. In a study done at Harvard, “The findings demonstrate that the relationship between performance on component skills of reading and the proficiency classifications from the standards-based assessment is generally weak” (Rupp, 2006). If that is the case, then who holds the National Department of Education accountable for their design of the standards? If the nation’s teachers are to adequately prepare students for standardized testing and are to use reporting systems in their classroom that use the same methods of assessment, the National Standards should be discussed in open forum as part of the standards driven reform movement.

More Articles for Teachers

• Teaching Change Management in the Classroom: NTeQ Introduction
• Sleep Debt Breaks the Bank
• Silent Ball Assessment Game for the Classroom

Image by woodleywonderworks via Flickr