Changes in The Curriculum Of Elite Public Schools In The U.S. Draw Mixed Criticism
The issue about over-achievement in some of the elite schools in the United States has fueled debates among school districts. For some, this issue is a strong call for curriculum changes and redesigns, The Straits Times reported Thursday.
Some of the districts, such as the New Jersey School District, took initiatives to redesign its curriculum by lowering the level of students' participation in music programs and cancelling the fourth and fifth-grade advanced mathematics curriculum.
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People desired for the elimination of the "test-only admissions policy." This policy has been perceived to increase the number of Latino and Black students, however, some viewed it as detrimental to the admission of the Asian-American students.
Education experts said that Asian parents, who were mostly immigrants with no influential family or friends in the United States, see education as the only means for their children to achieve a middle-class lifestyle.
"These networks highly value academic achievement because this pathway is considered the most viable one for upward mobility, as compared to sports, the arts, entertainment," said Mitchell Chang, a professor at the University of California's Higher Education and Organizational Change.
In a Town Hall Meeting in December last year, the West Windsor- Plainsboro District eliminated the midterm and final examinations for high school students as indicators for learning progress and performance. This move was reached following the mental health assessment results of their middle school and high school students revealed that "68 percent of top-performing high school students were either always stressed or stressed most of the time."
While others viewed this in a positive light, some did not.
One parent said that she has no objections to course redesigning, but the reason behind the changes did not satisfy her.
Catherine Foley, the former teacher and founder of a group called Take Back Childhood, said she does not think U.S. schools are "dumbing down the curriculum, but aligning with trends and getting away from test scores and grades."