ILLICH-LIKE STANDARDS IN TODAY'S SCHOOLS

From - Sun Feb 13, 2000
From: Steven White

Bob Galloway mentions a program called school to work. I researched it on the web. See an idea that looks much like Illich's ideas

Let's suppose for a minute that the folks at the school to work program have managed to remove credentialing from the educational process and have found a way to reward substance over process. The graduates of this program haven't just shown that they can stay in school for twelve years, they have shown that they can perform tasks related to the jobs they're doing to a particular level of proficiency. Have we met Mr. Illich's criteria for deschooling society? Can the reduction of human beings to cogs in the machinery of capitalism be compatible with his thinking?

There have been several other innovations in education since Mr.Illich wrote his book. I wonder if this book was perhaps influential to the thinking of the educational establishment. I have copied below some of the new standards which are applied to my children in New York state. I think they have come a long way on the path toward valuing substance over process.

The difference between these two approaches, each of which in its own way brings us a little closer to the utopian ideal of a deschooled society, brings us back to the question in assignment 1a: what is the goal of education? Are we looking to enrich our minds or our bank accounts? Is society trying to avoid chaos by producing a new generation of cookie cutter people? Mr. Illich's book makes its contribution not by the answers it gives but by the questions it raises.

LEVEL 4

At Level 4, test scores indicate student performance exceeds the standards and the student is moving toward high performance on the Regents examination. The student demonstrates superior knowledge and skill for each standard area of English language arts for elementary students and proficient intermediate skills in listening, reading, and writing delineated in the Learning Standards. Students consistently demonstrate understanding of written and oral text beyond the literal level. They can analyze and interpret a variety of texts, identify significant story elements, compare and synthesize information from related texts, and form insightful opinions, using extensive supporting details. Students' writing is well organized, thoroughly developed, and uses sophisticated and effective language, with few or no errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation.

LEVEL 3

At Level 3, test scores indicate student performance at least meets the standards and, with continued steady growth, the student should pass the Regents examination. The student demonstrates knowledge and skills for each standard of English language arts for elementary students and some intermediate skills in listening, reading, and writing delineated in the Learning Standards. Students demonstrate understanding of written and oral text with some attention to meaning beyond the literal level. They can gather information, make inferences, identify theme or main idea, understand character actions, and make connections between two related texts, providing some supporting information. Students writing is generally focused and organized, with minor errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation that do not interfere with readability.

LEVEL 2

At Level 2, test scores indicate the student will need extra help to meet the standards and pass the Regents examination. The student demonstrates some knowledge and skills for each standard of English language arts or full proficiency in one or two of the assessed standards for elementary students, but none of the intermediate skills in listening, reading, or writing delineated in the Learning Standards. Students demonstrate partial understanding of written and oral text at a literal level. They can recognize basic story elements, make some inferences, and identify some similarities and differences in two related texts, providing limited supporting information. Students' writing shows some focus and basic organization, and uses simple sentence structure and vocabulary. Students follow some rules for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but errors sometimes interfere with readability.

LEVEL 1

At Level 1, test scores indicate the student has serious academic deficiencies. This student needs the most help to meet the standards. The student demonstrates no evidence of proficiency at all in one or more of the standards of English language arts for elementary students and does not reach proficiency in any of the three standards. Students demonstrate minimal understanding of written and oral text. They can locate and recall some stated information, and attempt to construct short and extended responses. Students' writing consists of brief, general, or repetitive statements, and reveals difficulty in organizing thoughts. Errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation interfere with readability and comprehension.

Cut Scores for Grades 4 and 8

Cut scores for these performance levels will not be made final until after the tests are given. The method used to set the cut scores requires the ordering of the test questions from least difficult to most difficult. This ordering is based on extensive field testing across the State. To assure that this ordering of questions applies to the whole student population, an analysis will be made on the whole student population taking the test before the cut scores are adopted. While extensive pilot testing of questions was conducted across the State, there is not enough assurance that the pilots were representative of the entire student population statewide. The cut scores will represent the level of performance expected in achieving the higher standards.

HOME