This is the third in our series of posts about the changing landscape in education.
In the video below, Victory’s staff discuss what’s next in assessment. We’ve added a few more thoughts below. Feel free to use the comments to join in the conversation.
A Variation on “The Chicken or the Egg?”
Which comes first, change in curriculum or change in assessment? Often people see standards as a driver of change, and certainly both assessment and curriculum are affected by standards reform. But as it is with so many things, you don’t really know what it is (or can be) until you see it in action.
What’s Next?
We like to view the standards as a blueprint to guide you. When you build a house, the actual house that is built often differs from the specs in the blueprint. The same happens with the dance of curriculum, assessment, and standards. The plans often give way to reality.
Lately it feels like assessment is driving the changes in curriculum. Most people would agree that we have to prepare students for the assessments by changing what we teach, and how we teach. Many are worried that more students will fail because assessments are becoming more rigorous and open-ended. But maybe it’s the other way around: higher expectations will lead to higher achievement. That’s the positive attitude we like to bring to the shifting educational landscape.
Build it and they will come!
