Standards Defined

According to Merriam-Webster online—standard is defined as:

Main Entry: 1stan·dard
Pronunciation: 'stan-dərd
Function: noun

3: something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example : CRITERION a means of determining what a thing should be. STANDARD applies to any definite rule, principle, or measure established by authority.

How does this apply to education?

Educational standards are broken down into content and performance standards. Content standards define each content area in terms of the facts and procedures that all students should know and tasks they should be able to perform. While performance standards define how students will demonstrate proficiency within the content standards. Benchmarks are used in conjunction with standards to breakdown the standards by grade level and define content and performance at each level. For example, PA Standards for Reading & Writing 1.1 is defined as Learning to Read Independently—a kindergarten benchmark may be to preview text, by grade three a student will be expected to Preview the text formats (e.g., title, headings, chapters, and table of contents).---whereas a fifth grade student will be expected to establish the purpose for reading a type of text (e.g., literary, informational) before reading text.

Academic Standards:

• Set high expectations that are more likely to yield high results for all students;
• Set clear targets for EVERY student and EVERY teacher, enabling teachers to improve instruction for all students;
• Enable families and communities to understand and be more involved with the educational process from kindergarten through twelfth grade; and
• Provide the framework for academic progress to be monitored regularly.

Federal Standards

In January 2002,  President Bush signed into law  the  “No  Child  Left  Behind  Act.”  This law requires states to establish testing and accountability to ensure that certain standards are being met. It is intended to lead to higher achievement  for  all  children.  NCLB also requires states to raise the qualifications for new teachers and verify the qualifications of  current teachers. The  legislation is attempting to send the message that the federal   government will be assuming a more forceful role in elementary and secondary education. It demands that  states  and  local  school  districts to raise academic achievement and it takes direct action to improve schools that perform poorly .  In exchange for meeting the new demands, poorer school districts will receive  additional  federal  funding, and all states and school districts will have greater flexibility in how they use federal funds.

State Standards

To meet the demands of No Child Left Behind, states have been working to establish the standards for their own districts. The Pennsylvania Department of Education began the process of developing and adopting educational standards in the late 1990s, starting with Mathematics and Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. Pennsylvania education Standards were developed in thirteen content areas:
1. Arts and Humanities
2. Career Education and Work **
3. Civics and Government
4. Economics
5. Environment and Ecology
6. Family and Consumer Science
7. Geography
8. Health Safety and Physical Education
9. History
10. Mathematics
11. Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
12. Science and Technology
13. World Languages **

** Still in development

The content standards are interdisciplinary in nature, with Geography, for example, directly related to Environment and Ecology and Civics and Government . Full copies of the Academic Standards can be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of Education website, http://www.pde.state.pa.us.

Creating Standards at a Local Level

With the development of the PSSA tests to test the standards, the responsibilities of the teachers and everyone involved in the education of children increased. Locally, many districts are aligning what they are teaching with the the standards and they are looking at how the children are assessed within their own curriculum.

Technology Coordinators Role

A technology coordinator, or similar position, must be understand the standards in all areas and will be impacted in several ways:

1. Evaluating/ Aquiring Remediation/software:  Implementing state/national standards requires remediation of many students.  The technology coordinator must be able to work with staff in developing a remediation program, determining what remediation software may be best for the students in various grade levels, and ensuring that the remediation software is compatible with the district's technology.
2. Monitoring Progress:  The technology coordinator needs to work with staff and administration in coordinating/developing (purchasing) a database that can maintian and track students' progress relative to the standards.
3. Communication:  Parents need to be kept abreast of their child's progress, once again, relative to standards.  One way to keep parents informed may be through an on-line program whereby parents can check on the status of their child's program.  Edline and PerformanceTracker are examples of such programs
4. Staff development:  As new remediation programs (or other related programs) are implemented, the technology coordinator must ensure that staff are properly trained and be responsible for overseeing or coordinating a training program.

References:

PA State Standards Website

http://www.pastatestandards.org/

ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students

http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_profiles.html

ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers

http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html