K-12 Why We'Re Behind

8/16/2019 K-12 Why We'Re Behind

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W HY WE RE BEHIND:

W hat Top Nations

Teach Their Students

But W e Don t

By Diane Ravitch and Antonia Córtese

From a report by Common Core

W

E hear it all the time:

America s competitive-

ness in the global econ-

omy will suffer if our students

continue to fall behind their peers

abroad.

Many of us in education wince

at the idea that schools deter-

mine our nation s economic stand-

ing. Yet there is no denying that

schools do build human capital

and do ultimately affect the social

and economic well-being of our na-

tion, albeit not in the short run.

Over the years, American stu-

dents consistently have ranked

below those from Finland, Canada,

Japan, and at least a dozen other

industrialized nations on interna-

tional tests of mathematics, sci-

ence,

and reading.

The No Child Left Behind Act

(NCLB) has done nothing to close

this gap. And we suspect that the

law may be making matters w orse.

In part, because NCLB has nar-

rowed the curriculum s that most

of our students are not acquiring

the broad base of knowledge they

need to succeed as they advance

through school.

While American students are

spending endless hours preparing

to take tests of their basic read-

ing and math skills, their peers in

high-performing nations are read-

Diane Ravitch and Antonia C órtese are cochairs of ommon Core a group

working to bring com prehens ive content-rich instruction to every classroom

in Am erica. Conde nsed with permission from the forward to the report

Why We re B eh ind: What Top Nations Teach Their Studen ts But We Don t,


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THE EDUC TION DIGEST

ing poetry and novels, conducting

experiments in chemistry and

physics, making music, and study-

ing important historica l issues. We

are the only leading indus trialized

nation that considers the mastery

of basic sk ills to be the goal of K-12

education.

Nations that consistently out-

rank us on math and science exam-

of approaches to getting the job

done.

Hong Kong, Korea, Finland,

and Japan each have a national

curriculum. Austral ia is in the

process of writing a curriculum

and already has national tests.

Netherlands and ew Zealand have

national standards. Switzerland

and Canada have school leav-

W hile Am erican students are spending endless

hours preparing to talte tests of the ir basic reading

and math skills the ir peers in high-performing

nations are reading poetry and novels conducting

experiments in chem istry mailing music and

studying important historical issues. We are the only

industrialized nation tha t considers the m astery of

basic skills to be th e goal of K—12 ed ucation.

¡nations do not owe their success

to concentrating solely.or even

mostly on those subjects. Nor are

they focusing relentlessly on skill

subjects like reading and math, as

we do, shorn of any connection to

history , science, or litera ture.

That is what the researchers

who compiled this report have

learned. The nations that con-

sistently outrank us on the Pro-

gramme for International Stu-

dent Assessment PISA) de liver

a comprehensive, content-r ich

ing exams that carry high stakes

for students on a college-bound

track.

These very diverse nations

ensure that their students receive

a deep education in a broad range

of subjects. Why is this important?

Because America is on the op-

posite track. And because cogni-

tive scientists have consistently

agreed that the high-performing

nations are taking the approach

that works.

Learning experts have long rec-


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Why We re Behind

Examples of curriculum standards and test questions

included in Common Core s report

HO NG KON G, national curriculum for visuai arts, grades 4-6

Exam ples of learning a ctivities

• Visiting an artist's studio or an exhibition to inspire with ideas to create a new piece

of artwork

• Study ing the sculptures [of] Henry Moore to understand the conc epts of negative

shapes and positive shapes

• Expressing opinions on Guernica by Picasso after understanding the background

of the work

KOREA , national curriculum for social studies, grade 7

The marl


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THE EDUC TION DIGEST

is to have a base of background

knowledge. The basic principle is

known in education as the Mat-

thew effect, tha t is, tho se who

have knowledge get more knowl-

edge, and those who have

less,

get

less (or, the rich get richer, and the

poor get poorer).

Background knowledge allows

one to acquire new knowledge,

to read and comprehend new in-

formation, to navigate unfamiliar

challenges, to make inferences,

hatiónai standards

will not improve

education unless they

ackhowledge that

content matters

and to deduce solutions. Ihiagine

having to play a chess game with-

out knowing

how

the pieces move,

or even the point of the game. Or

being told someone's rhetoric

sounds Kennedy-esque without

knowing anything about JFK—or

perhaps not even recognizing

the initials. That is the level of puzzle-

ment that people face when they

lack background knowledge.

We

believe that all of America's

schoolchildren deserve to receive

the kind of comprehensive, con-

tent-rich education that will give

them the background knowledge

required to effectively pursue their

Experts and policy makers are

now debating whether the United

States should adopt national stan-

dards.

We

hope our report informs

that discussion by focusing it on

questions of content that have

heretofore been overlooked. We

hope the discussions avoid the

narrow trap created by

NCL

and

that they recognize the importance

of the a rts , history, literature, sci-

ence, geography, civics, foreign

languages, and other realms of

knowledge and experience es-

sential to educating our children.

This is what we can learn from the

nations that are most successful in

educating their children.

We believe that national stan-

dards will not improve education

unless they acknowledge that

content matters. They could even

make education w orse by cement-

ing in the status quo.

So

we're not moved by the idea

of standards, per se, until we are

convinced that they will be excel-

lent and that they will not encour-

age continued indifference to the

full education that we believe all

our stud en ts need. We're also

nonplussed by the frenzy over

competitiveness.

What we have learned from our

study is that the best nations do

what is best for their students and

that means building a great educa-

tion system, not just attempting

to prepare them for the labor


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K-12 Why We'Re Behind