Benchmarks: Grades
9-12
"In high school students are expected to
become skilled communicators, paying attention to the accuracy of
evidence and the effectiveness of delivery. Considerable time is spent
on analysis and critique. Research and reporting take on increased
importance in all areas, and students should become more sophisticated
in their understanding and methods of scientific inquiry." Excerpt from:
Family Education
Academic courses continue to maintain a strong presence in the
curriculum through junior and senior high. However, there is a definite
decline in the emphasis on academic courses, since the curricular and
noncurricular options are so numerous at this level. Although a basic
set of classes is required for graduation, students are able to
supplement these with a variety of elective classes (Hallinan 1987). A
recent study by the National Education Commission on Time and Learning
(1994) showed that in 42 states, only 41 percent of secondary school
time must be spent on academic subjects. The number and type of elective
classes available to particular students will depend almost entirely on
the school in which they are enrolled. Funding often plays a determining
role in a school's ability to provide elective courses, and therefore
the poorer school districts are able to offer fewer educational
opportunities in the form of elective courses.
Public schools, particularly at the
secondary level, accommodate students with diverse interests and ability
levels by providing curricular tracks. The U.S. Department of
Education's Statistical Profile of Schools and Staffing in the United
States for 1990-91 (1993f), states that 80 percent of all schools with
12th grade offered a college preparatory program with an average
enrollment of 60 percent of their 10th- to 12th-grade students. Also, 78
percent of public schools that served 12th-graders offered a general
program for students who did not plan to attend college, and in these
programs had an average enrollment of 45 percent of 10th- to
12th-graders. Excerpt from:
The Educational Structure of the United States School System
Developing
Educational Standards
Read more
National and State Standards
Read more
High School Graduation Read
more
Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That
Counts Read more
Competitive High School Speech And Debate: An
Efficient Delivery System For Education
Hirsch is
highly critical of those who consider “discovery learning” to be the
panacea of pedagogy. What it comes down to is that a taxonomy of
cognitive skills is a hierarchy, with each level being a prerequisite
for the next. The higher order skills cannot be developed in a vacuum;
they must be developed from a base of extensive content knowledge.
Read more
Keeping Pace With K–12 Online Learning: A
Snapshot of State-Level Policy and Practice
Read more
State Assessments
Much of the testing that occurs as part of state- and district-wide
assessment programs is part of a concerted effort to improve the quality
of education through assessment-based accountability. State-mandated
tests don't merely assess students' academic ability; many states are
relying on tests to determine the academic future of students,
compensation for teachers and administrators, and funding for schools.
With states' reliance on educational tests steadily on the rise,
students will find themselves up against these state-mandated tests more
and more in their school careers.
Since much of the U.S. educational system is under local control by the
state or district, tests vary significantly. Some are locally developed;
others are purchased from large commercial test publishers.
Click Here to find out
information about your state. |
