How did standard education become standardized?

MAT-SU -- Much is said about teacher salaries, class sizes, testing, bus routes and lunch programs.

These topics, along with myriad educational programs, policies and budgets, exist for one reason -- to provide children an education.

What students actually study, however, is the product of ongoing national, state and local debates.

Over the last 40 years, the federal government has dramatically expanded its influence over public education. Beginning with President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty," federal funding for education increased by more than 200 percent between 1965 and 1975.

A few years later, in 1983, the newly founded U.S. Department of Education issued the now-famous report, "A Nation at Risk." The disturbing report warned that the United States' education system was suffering from slack, uneven standards and ill-prepared teachers.

Students were not studying hard enough or learning enough, and the report warned that if the U.S. did not make immediate attempts to remedy the situation, its social structure would crack and its economy totter.

Since then, the federal government has steadily moved toward the development of standardized core curricula and teacher training, attempting to ensure that U.S. students receive a quality education.

The 2002 No Child Left Behind Act is just the most recent and comprehensive federal attempt to strengthen public education. NCLB increased federal funding to states by more than 24 percent but also brought an unprecedented increase of federal mandates and sanctions.

According to NCLB, each state must develop statewide standards in reading, writing and math and then test its students in those subjects. If students fail to make progress in these areas, individual schools are subject to increasingly stiff penalties, including busing students to different schools, firing teachers and staff and even closing down certain schools altogether.

In order for states to continue receiving federal funding for public education, each state must show that its individual schools are following the NCLB guidelines. States that refuse to follow NCLB guidelines may lose federal education funds -- a financial fate most states cannot afford.

The history of standardizing education

1991 -- Alaska's educators and administrators began developing statewide curriculum content standards for 10 core subject areas. This program was called Alaska 2000 and the goal was to have major educational reform in place by the year 2000.

1995-97 -- Alaska adopts statewide standards in 10 core subject areas. These standards, however, were only suggestions for individual school districts and they were free to implement them at their own discretion. These guidelines did not break down by grade level what students should know.

1997 -- The Alaska State Legislature approved the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, requiring every high-school student to demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing and math before receiving a diploma. The Alaska Department of Education then began creating mandatory, statewide content standards for reading, writing and math. These standards, however, still did not state when students should learn certain material.

1998 -- A state law allowed the Alaska Department of Education to test third-, sixth- and eighth-graders, so that students could be assessed in reading, writing and math several times throughout their academic careers and not just once during the graduation exam. The goal was to make sure students had learned certain skills by certain grade levels.

1999 -- The state adopted the Department of Education's tests for third-, sixth- and eighth-graders.

2002 -- The federal No Child Left Behind Act was enacted, and Alaska began standardized testing in grades 3-10.

2004 -- The state issued grade-level performance expectations for grades 3-10, explaining exactly what each student should be capable of in reading, writing and math. Individual districts are now aligning curricula to fit the specific grade-level expectations of the state.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.