The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

State tries to set new standard for education

By Katherine Petersen

Parents, educators and business leaders agree that California must set standards for its students but disagree on what the benchmarks should be. More than 80 speakers discussed a draft of proposed new standards for math and reading at a June 26 public hearing held at the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

The commission has incorporated much of the public's concern into a working draft available on its Web site at http://www.ca.gov/goldstandards/.

Many doubted the draft standards of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards would be successful.

"The math standards include a lot of techniques but lack application skills and understanding," said Marilyn Miller, who is in charge of developing standards for the Cupertino Union School District. "We've got to develop thinkers. And these standards would allow very little flexibility for teachers in terms of instruction and creativity in the classroom."

All kids need a foundation and to learn basic skills, but education needs to be more than rote memorization, she added.

Others praised the commission for its work, saying the standards appeared to be right on track.

"The math standards are excellent," said Brian White, a math professor at Stanford University. "The standards are high, but not unduly so; high standards are important."

The 21-member commission has worked since last year to create a set of standards for what California's students should be taught. The standards commission received feedback during four public hearings throughout the state about the proposed standards, which were released last month, and will consider this feedback when writing future drafts.

The commission is expected to submit a final draft to the state Board of Education for approval in October.

"Our purpose is to change what is taught in California's schools," commission chairwoman Ellen Wright said.

Educators including Miller expressed concern that only two teachers sit on the commission.

Many in education hope the state's work to ask grade-level benchmarks will lead to improvement throughout California's public education system.

The commission's first draft of standards would require students to meet more stringent requirements by the time they graduate. Yet many people said the commission has merely moved required classes down a grade, making standards tougher in the elementary and junior high years, said Maureen West, mathematics and science coordinator for the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

For example, students would be taught algebra and be exposed to some geometry in eighth grade instead of high school, she said. Students can currently test into an algebra class in eighth grade, but most take the class during their freshman year of high school.

Many speakers encouraged the commission not to neglect important educational research available to them. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), pointed out by many speakers, studied curricula in Japan, Germany and France.

TIMSS researchers found that students in countries that scored well on an international test concentrate on a smaller number of topics in depth, rather than touch on many "fragmented" subjects.

"We spiral through the same 35 topics year after year and get the same old splintered vision," said Erwin Morton, a Palo Alto parent.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 23, 1997.
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