Although the website is devoted to informing interested parties about the Core Curriculum Content Standards, I wonder how many teachers routinely visit the site. While all teachers are familiar with the standards and tailor their instruction accordingly, the standards are probably supplied to them by their district or department heads. Teachers know the standards associated with the subject they teach but may have little awareness of the standards governing other disciplines despite the movement to integrate instruction and information across content areas. Still, I wonder how many parents find themselves looking at the site to find out more about what is required to be taught in school. I imagine even fewer parents are even aware such a site exists.
The site is relatively well organized in its description of the standards, strands and progress indicators and its connection to the No Child Left Behind legislation. It illustrates the natural progression of movement from one part to the next and gives information to facilitate instruction between and among all disciplines. While teachers likely can navigate the website, parents might be less successful—at least at first—due to the amount of information contained in each discipline. To its credit, the site offers several different ways to access the standards so that it is available to people in a variety of ways. Still, when attempting to tap into the Gifted and Talented and Preschool Expectations portions of the site, error messages sometimes appeared.
Despite the comprehensive way it covers the standards, it does not seem to address the way in which the standards translate into instruction and offers few, if any, links to other sites that may be of interest to educators and parents. While the enormity of information presented can be a meaningful guide for some, it may be overwhelming and off putting to others—particularly as its description of what should be accomplished comes up against a host of natural barriers to its complete and full implementation.
The site is relatively well organized in its description of the standards, strands and progress indicators and its connection to the No Child Left Behind legislation. It illustrates the natural progression of movement from one part to the next and gives information to facilitate instruction between and among all disciplines. While teachers likely can navigate the website, parents might be less successful—at least at first—due to the amount of information contained in each discipline. To its credit, the site offers several different ways to access the standards so that it is available to people in a variety of ways. Still, when attempting to tap into the Gifted and Talented and Preschool Expectations portions of the site, error messages sometimes appeared.
Despite the comprehensive way it covers the standards, it does not seem to address the way in which the standards translate into instruction and offers few, if any, links to other sites that may be of interest to educators and parents. While the enormity of information presented can be a meaningful guide for some, it may be overwhelming and off putting to others—particularly as its description of what should be accomplished comes up against a host of natural barriers to its complete and full implementation.
2 comments:
If you were to suggest changes to the state to make this more user friendly, what would it be?
I share in your pessimism that many teachers visit the NJ website or are up to date on the standards. I doubt many teachers could name the general standards for their content area. Fewer parents have used this site. Many administrators don't check to see that lessons meet the standards. Why are they then used? When push comes to shove, when a parent complains, administrators teachers and parents can use them to explain why instruction was right or wrong. They exist as evidence, not as functional parts of the curriculum. This is a shame in that I believe that state standards do have merit if used appropriately.
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