Robyn Ourada

Jane Vander Tuig

Diana Weis

Mini Project 5

A Lapse in Standards: Linking Standards-Based Reform With Student Achievement

By: Bill Nave, Edward Miech, and Frederick Mosteller

The premise of this article is when you increase direct student/teacher contact and align the curriculum to the standards you will increase learning and performance. This article is based primarily on the philosophy that by empowering students to develop positive dispositions you will increase students’ academic self-concept and consequently their performance. The teacher’s role in this is to believe that students can learn; therefore generating high expectations will develop a student’s intrinsic motivation.

The authors cite five basic theories for standards based reform. Four of the five basic theories of action deal with student/teacher motivation, ownership and disposition. The article states that how students view themselves academically will determine their success. Equally important are teachers’ expectations. These determine students’ self-concepts within the learning environment. These self-fulfilling prophecies need to be broken before students can see themselves as successful learners and eventually perform at higher proficiency levels. The fifth theory focuses on collaboration between community and schools in aligning curriculum and standards.

David Hornbeck, a Philadelphia public school superintendent, has devised seven steps to implement standards-based reform. They are:

  • Hold uniform expectations for all students regardless of ability.
  • Create a curriculum guide based on content and performance standards.
  • Give teachers time to develop and work with the curriculum guide.
  • Expect teachers to incorporate the guide into their lesson planning.
  • Expect students to learn more from lessons and classroom experiences.
  • Expect better performance on the district-standardized tests.
  • Hold principals accountable for classroom improvements in student achievement.

This article is based on very limited research. This is due to a recent standards based movement. As the authors states, there needs to be clear documentation of the implementation, of these reforms. Extensive and credible research is needed to determine exactly how and when reforms lead to student improvement. Until then this is theory and we won’t know whether student improvement is directly linked to standards or student ownership of their learning.