Academic experts work to refine plan for tougher standards

Monday, March 16, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Teams of academic experts and lawmakers are at work to make standards within Nevada's schools among the toughest in the nation.

Teams working on English and math standards worked Saturday to refine preliminary standards developed in January.

School board members, legislators, curriculum planners, teachers and parents are all on teams assisting the Council of Basic Education, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm hired by the state to write the new standards for English, math and science.

Consultant Kaye McCann said the goal is to produce standards that lead the country.

"We're shooting for near the top," she said.

The math team has completed its work, the English team will finish up on March 30, and the science team meets Friday in Reno to wrap up its document.

McCann's company will compile the recommendations and present them to the state Council on Academic Standards and Assessments, probably at its April 9 meeting in Las Vegas. And the first public hearing will be May 21 in Elko, followed by sessions in Las Vegas and Reno on dates to be announced later.

Debbie Smith, chairman of the state council, said the standards being drafted now are more rigorous than ones previously drawn up by the state Department of Education. Currently, there are no standards on file for Nevada schools.

When completed, the standards will outline just what a student should know in reading, writing, listening, speaking, research, math and science in second-, third-, fifth-, eighth-, and 12th-grades.

In the second-grade, for example, a student must learn to read and follow directions. In the third-grade, the student must be able to follow more complex directions. The standards become more comprehensive as the grades progress.

Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, a member of the math team, said once the standards are adopted, the state will train teachers to instruct to the higher achievement levels.