Author: Phillips, S.E.

Publication Year:

Media Type: Periodical (article)

Summary:

Abstract:

To obtain planning grants under the Goals 2000 Educate America Act (federal legislation for reforming American schools), states or school districts must agree to set high content and performance standards for all students. Large-scale assessments are expected to be implemented to measure attainment of these required standards. At a minimum, such assessments will classify students as having met or not met the standards. Many states already have such standards at the high school level in the form of required graduation assessments.

In a recent Education Week article (Diegmueller, 1994, p. 8) critics of Goals 2000 contend that the standards-based reforms it encourages will erode local control over schools and instill in students state-sanctioned attitudes, values, and beliefs. In response, proponents of Goals 2000 argue that the critics have misinterpreted the legislation. As states and local districts debate whether to seek federal funding, they must be cognizant of the opposition and the potential for political and legal challenges to mandate standards and the assessments used to measure their achievement. Precedents from litigation on state graduation assessments provide some insight into the potential legal arguments that may be raised by parents and other challenges.

There are two interpretations of the term standards which may play a role in the legal defensibility of mandated state or district standards. These interpretations include:

(a) goal statements describing what students should know and be able to do in
     specific content subjects (descriptive standards); and
(b) the specification of the score or level of performance corresponding to a
     category of achievement such as passing or proficient (passing scores).

Descriptive standards provide the focus for the discussions of legal defensibility which follow.
(p. 16)

CONTENTS
Legal issues related to descriptive standards.
Professional requirements.
Legal criteria from case law and statutory law.
Notice.
Curricular validity.
Revision of standards.
Predicting performance on graduation standards.
Adverse impact.
Opportunity for success.
Test standards.
Differential equipment.
Applying standards for individual students to group work.
Outside assistance.
Procedural differences.
Notes.
References.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Arts Education