A Historical Perspective
1. What has changed in education over time:
 College admission standards
 Textbook standardization
 Achievement levels
 Shift from “classical” education to “modern” education – “the overriding
philosophy was social efficiency, which supported curricular tracking and a
devaluation of liberal education” (p.42)
 Tracking - “in time most educators and parents came to believe that certain
studies… were only for college-bound students” (p.43)
 IEP’S and 504’s – accommodations for students with special needs
 Size of schools – from small k-12 to the splitting into grade specific schools
2. What has stayed the same:
 Grading systems: “American schools for most of the nineteenth century by
and large had content standards, as defined by relatively uniform
classroom materials, and they even had an implicit consensus about
performance standards, with a broadly shared scale that ranged from A to
F or 100 to 60” (p.35).
 Standards – see above
 High school curricula being aligned to college entrance requirements
 Lack of sufficient funding for quality education for all
 Desire for a “level playing for all” (because of the awareness from the
outset that such equality did not exist)
 Standardized/same textbooks, beginning with Webster’s “blue-backed”
spelling books and McGuffey’s reading series.
3. What is the difference between aptitude and achievement tests and what do they
have to do with standards?
Aptitude tests measure students inherent ability level. An example of an aptitude test
is an IQ test. The SAT was designed originally to be an aptitude test (hence its name).
An achievement test measures how much a student has learned, and an example of an
achievement test would be the AP Chemistry exam. Standards are course specific
generally, and dictate what concepts are to be taught. Achievement test such as the
CAHSEE and the CAT six measure students knowledge of standards. Today’s
curricula textbooks are often written with both standards, and college board
requirements in mind, meaning that often college board admission requirements
determine standards, which in turn determine textbook content.
Aptitude tests were designed – I believe – partly out of a desire to create a more
opportunity for students with ability, but perhaps not the skills, to attend college.
Unfortunately, preparing students for tests like the SAT has become a big business, so
that what was designed to level the playing field has not done so.
4. How was science education perceived throughout history?
In a historical context, not much attention was given to science in the beginning of
American education, with its emphasis on classical education. During the industrial
revolution, the sciences became more important, and then especially true post-Sputnik
and currently. The pendulum swings with what the nation is experiencing; during the
depression era vocation, character, health, citizenship, etc were stressed. When Russia
developed Sputnik, and during the cold war, math and science were stressed and
educational achievement increased. With the influx of recent immigration, working
parents, and other cultural changes that detract from education (such as TV, computer
games, etc) once again we are a “Nation at Risk” and programs such as NCLB are
designed to address systematic failures in our educational system.