Education History

What’s Next?

In the United States, once a student successfully completes elementary school, they enter into secondary school. Secondary is comprised of the grades between 6th and 12, with some variations. It is often divided into two separate schools, middles and high school. School districts make a determination regarding which grades are covered in middle and high school based on a variety of factors including demographics, with the overall goal being keeping classes full.

The curriculum of secondary schools varies widely throughout the country. In generally it course content and curriculum is decided by the local school boards, with the state educational agency’s weighing heavily in during the decision making process. There are, however, several areas that are very similar throughout the country.

1.Secondary education is broad in nature -no matter where the school is located, the student will receive a general education in many subjects without a specific focus.
2.All students must pass a predetermined number of course to be eligible for graduation.
3.Throughout the country, most secondary education institutions focus on several critical areas, requiring students to successfully complete at least 2 years of science, 2 years of math, 3 years social science and 1 year of physical education

Schools vary widely on how the score and rank students. A passing grade may be anything from a 60% to a 75% depending on what the local and state regulations are. Schools also take variety of stances on additional classes like sexuality, first aid, nutrition, anatomy and birth control.

Finally, most secondary institutions offer a variety of electives to allow their students to explore other areas of education. This includes publishing, athletics and computers.

Secondary school is designed to prepare a student for college or technical school. Successfully completing the secondary course is a necessity in the United States.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, Secondary school, United States

How To Structure A School

Throughout the history of the United States educational system, much of the control over curriculum has resided in the hands of local school districts. That changed radically with the passing of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2002. This act forced states to take a more active role in the way that their schools developed and implemented content and curriculum. Still, there is a great deal of flexibility that still resides in at the local level. In most cases, schools need simply to follow guidelines developed at the state level.

Throughout the country, most schools follow the same basic curriculum, with allowances for differences in demographics and needs of the student population.

Math: Most states require a minimum of two years of mathematics. This may include algebra, pre-calculus, geometry and statistics. Some areas also offer calculus.
Science: Most states require a minimum of two years of science classes. This may include physics, chemistry and biology.
English: Most states require four years of English. Typical classes include oral languages, compositions, humanities and literature.
Social Sciences: Most states require three years of social sciences including a variety of history course, economics and government.]
Physical Education: Most states require at least one year of gym.
Health: Many states have a health course requirement. Human sexuality, nutrition, anatomy or drug awareness are examples of health courses offered by some states.

The above requirements apply primarily to students on course for graduation. Some states or school districts may offer different choices to a certain degree, but the above-mentioned classes are pretty standard across the country.

It is important to note that in spite of the flexibility offered by the federal government, most states have opted to follow very similar curriculum. This works in favor of students who move mid way through their school careers. This may change as the governement looks at a variety of reform measures.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Curriculum, No Child Left Behind Act, School district

It’s All Elective

Many secondary schools in the United States offer their students the opportunity to select their elective classes on their own. This allows students the ability to shape their class schedule to keep it in line with their future goals and current interests. Depending on the goals of the students, a variety of electives are available. Ideally, the student will consider their future college or technical school and their requirements prior to selecting the electives they need to round out their class schedule.

It is a good idea to recognize that most colleges expect incoming students to have several different qualifications in addition to the standard curriculum. For example, students who hope to go on to a college or a university should have at least two years of a foreign language. Because of this, selecting a foreign language as an elective is important.

Other students opt to consider future career goals when selecting electives. For example, students interested in computer sciences for their career may wish to select computer classes as their electives. Many schools offer a variety of electives that relate to technical fields and are ideal for those interested in entering the work force in a technical position.

Finally, students should consider how all encompassing their schedule is. Colleges and university are always interested in the student that is “well-rounded.” This is easy to achieve by including at least one year of music and one year of art in a class schedule. These electives are attractive to colleges.

Determining which electives will work best for a particular child is very much a personal choice. That being said, a frank and honest discussion with a guidance counselor can often help the child determine which electives are most likely to help them meet their final goals. Electives may be “extra’s” but they make a big difference after graduation.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: College, Student, United States

Examples of Current Education Reform Efforts

The schools, colleges and universities profiled on websites like onlineeduation.com are facing a number of challenges. Those challenges are encouraging education reform on multiple levels. Education is changing in a number of different ways. Let’s look at a few examples.

Special Needs: The need to assist students with special needs is spurring a number of reforms. We’ve moved past the mainstreaming debate of the past in elementary schools. Today, reform discussions center on the best ways to provide educational opportunities to those with special needs at the secondary and post-secondary levels, as well. Even some of the most prestigious universities have recognized a need for specialized programs and assistance.

Technology: Technological development continues to transform the economy and our daily lives. Schools are working to leverage technological advances to improve their delivery of services. They’re also interested in finding ways to encourage further development of new technologies.

Testing and Benchmarks: Laws have created a number of testing requirements and mandatory outcomes for schools in the K-12 range. These controversial measures are just one example of how testing and the idea of outcomes-based education are changing schools. Some reformers are pushing for more testing while others seek more school autonomy and flexibility.

Cost Control: At the college level, a number of educational reformers are focused on finding ways to reduce the cost of education. They’re concerned about the amount of debt required to finance higher education and the burden it places on students after their graduation. Meanwhile, college administrators, struggling to stay within their budgets and noting reduced levels of alumni support, are looking for ways to run leaner, more efficient schools.

These are just a few reform topics currently in controversy. These ongoing debates and initiatives remind us that our educational system is anything but static. It’s constantly changing in response to the surrounding world and searching for better ways to deliver a high-quality education.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, Education reform, Technology

How Standardized Tests Are Contributing To Problems on the Educational System

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Much of the American educational system is based upon using standardized tests as an overall measurement of student achievement. However, this method is extremely flawed for several reasons and represents one of the major problems with the education system in this country.

Students who are attending schools in lower income areas are taking the same tests as students who who attend classes in districts comprised of mostly high-income families. Although there is a type of standardized test called Opportunity To Learn that was supposed to lessen this prominent income gap, many schools did not set aside the necessary funding to ensure that their teachers knew how to adjust their curriculum to the new standards. This left students frustrated, and teachers unsure of what concepts most needed to be taught.

Thus, now there is a commonly seen trend of teachers who feel forced to “teach to the test”, focusing on only those specific concepts that will be seen on the standardized tests. This stifles the overall learning process, and does not allow for spontaneous changes based on individual student needs and goals. However, recent studies provided a strong indication that higher test scores do not always ensure a higher standard of learning. Some teachers spend the majority of their classroom time emphasizing preparation for standardized tests, which leads to students learning things by repetition, rather than learning through interactive discussion and activities to help them retain the information for a lifetime. This is not the fault of the teachers, but rather of a faulty educational system that is geared towards tightly defined objectives rather than the constant and fluid process of learning.

Although America’s current administration has pledged to mandate a complete reform of the educational system, such a goal requires extensive funding and time, so it will be a while before any true and lasting changes can be measured.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, Standardized test, Student, Teacher, United States

Two Problems with the Education System

Education in the United States is far from perfect. Several problems exist, but two problems stick out more than any other problem: uncaring parents and unqualified teachers.
Parents are supposed to play a role in their child’s education. They are not supposed to simply drop their child off at school each day and not know what the child learns or what goes on inside the school. Unfortunately, many students do not have parents that know what their school life is like. Many parents just do not care about what their student’s academic life is like.
A parent is responsible for making sure their child is in school. If a parent doesn’t care, then they most likely aren’t tracking a student’s attendance. A student cannot succeed in school if they have poor attendance.
A parent must also keep a student on track academically. Making sure a student does their homework is the job of a parent. A parent must care enough about their child’s academic success to stay on top of monitoring homework. They must know what homework a child has and what tests are coming up that the student needs to study for. A student that does their homework and turns their homework in on time has a huge advantage. Since many parents do not care, many students are not on track with their homework and fall behind.
While parents are key to a child success, a good teacher is a must to a student doing well. Many teachers get burned out and quit early in their career. This means there are a large amount of young, inexperienced teachers and not enough older teachers in the current American educational sustem. It’s one of the largest problems with the education system in this country.
A good, caring teacher can help a struggling student succeed and give a boost to all students.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, Education in United States

The Problems With U.S School Funding

A lot of people know that schools are underfunded, but they don’t know just why they are the way they are. The truth is that there are multiple reasons why schools get funding in the United States. It’s all about the test scores.

Each and every year, schools are asked to give their students standardized tests. These test are to assess their abilities in a variety of areas including math, science, and reading. Schools spend the year preparing their students for these tests just as someone who wants to attend business school should go through a gmat prep course. The standardized tests are considered an accurate gauge of a students progress. When these test scores are reviewed by the state, they determine which schools get funding and which will receive less funding. Schools with students working at grade level or higher are considered to be doing well, and are given more funding. Those that are not at grade level are considered as underperforming schools and so they are put on probation. They face the risk of losing funding altogether.

This is an admittedly controversial way to do things. There are a serious amount of differences between one school and the next. There are the issues of different economic backgrounds of the kids, the education of their families, and the overall involvement of their families. This means that there is skewed information to decide funding.

The problem also lies in that teachers are not given the opportunity to teach kids based on information they need to help them grow and keep them well rounded. They are forced to give them information that will help them on the test, which is not a true indication of knowledge. Now, of course there are exceptions to every school situation, but the bottom line is that the testing is a real issue.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Standardized test, Student, United States