Columnist Bill Hanlon: Look to other countries, not other states for education advice

Bill Hanlon

Saturday, Sept. 6, 1997 | 11:25 a.m.

THE APPOINTEES to the council to develop academic standards for the state have been named. Hopefully, this group will look at this task from an educational point of view, as opposed to playing politics.

Unfortunately, some believe the best way to develop standards in Nevada is to review standards that are in place in other states and implement them here.

That makes me laugh, not because it's funny, but because it's so dumb. If you were going into horse breeding, would you buy a race horse that has a tendency to finish last? Is that a horse you would buy to breed winners?

Last time I checked, this nation's ranking on international tests placed us in the bottom half of the pack. If that is in fact the case, why would anybody want to copy standards developed in the United States?

If you believe that standards differ greatly by state, I would suggest that you are very wrong. Virginia is a state that has received a great deal of recognition based upon its standards. However, if you were to look at the standards set by that state, then look at the standards set by individual school districts in Nevada, based on Nevada's course of study, you would be hard pressed to see significant differences.

I am employed by the Clark County School District and I am most familiar with this county's curriculum. Having read the state of Virginia's math standards, I see little difference in those and what is published by CCSD for parents in its Curriculum Overviews. The same is true in other subjects.

The biggest difference is philosophical. Nevadans have always felt strongly about local control, therefore individual counties determined their curriculum based on a state framework. Virginians must like having the state dictate what must occur in their local school districts.

But whether it's local, state or federal, it's been my experience that the curriculum across the country is pretty much the same in all subject areas. Yes, there will be some differences. But, all in all, most kids will be learning long division in fourth and fifth grades. An algebra course in Nevada will look like those taught in Alabama, California, Utah or Massachusetts. We're kidding ourselves if we think copying another state's standards will improve student achievement in Nevada.

I just can't believe that a newly formed council would even consider copying what another state has done with its curriculum, knowing the United States' standing internationally.

I would like to think that if I were going into horse breeding, I would buy a horse that is a winner. Using that analogy in education, I know looking at what other states are doing may have some merit, but the council may want to concentrate on the curriculum in countries where students are very successful.

Not only would I study those curricula, I would have to take into consideration other factors that impact those school kids, such as the length of school day and school year. May those factors have an impact on student achievement?

It's past time that we determined what we thought was important for our kids to know -- to master. I think we ought to give teachers the opportunity to make sure their students not only are introduced to topics, but understand what is being taught, time to have them memorize the material, time to learn how to apply that knowledge and see how that information is related to concepts students have already learned.

Educational research and international studies have indicated that America's curriculum is over-bloated. As a state and nation, we have to make a conscious decision whether it is good to continue the policy of having our children introduced to myriad subjects and mastering few or have fewer priorities and mastering those.

When the newly created council develops new academic standards, it ought to identify the number of school days needed for students to learn objectives contained within the curriculum. For instance, how long should it take kids to master long division? Don't put something into the curriculum you know teachers can't cover.

The council also should build in review days so teachers have the opportunity to reinforce what they have taught their students. If teachers are feeling rushed because they have too much material to cover, then you know kids are feeling even more pressure. It's tough to have pride in workmanship if you don't have the time to do the job correctly in the first place.

The trend in Nevada to increase educational standards by adding to the curriculum has backfired. Hopefully, adults have learned that lesson.