Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

A–20

• They have shown that youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds do not usually try as hard on tests as their more favored classmates, but that they can be motivated to do so. • They have shown that it is possible to get a rough measure of the degree to which students bring a creative approach to the arts, the sciences, and the problems of human relations. • They have shown how the attitudes of primary school children toward their teachers, their school, their classmates may be developing and have suggested how important these attitudes can be in conditioning the children’s further education. Finally, these studies have shown that much more research needs to be done on how to assess the output of the schools and how to develop procedures for strengthening their programs. We are convinced by our work this year that such research will be fruitful and should be energetically pursued. 1. General policies: 1.2. The evaluation program should avoid any suggestion of a policing operation to see where schools are meeting minimum regulations. It should encourage, not inhibit, experimentation with (a) new curricula, (b) new administrative arrangements, (c) new approaches to instruction…. 1.3. The State Board of Education should rely upon the Superintendent of Public Instruction for developing and executing the evaluation program, it being understood, however, that where appropriate he may delegate parts of the work to universities or to other competent agencies outside the Department of Public Instruction…. 2. Procedures. The following procedures are recommended as constituting the essentials of an educational evaluation program for the Commonwealth…. 2.2. A General Panel of Review consisting of educators, behavioral scientists, and representatives of the general public should be appointed to review the system of tests and measures to be used to ascertain how well pupils are progressing toward the educational goals and to advise on research and development leading to new and improved means of assessing progress toward the goals. 2.3. For each of several areas of educational output, there should be a Sub-Panel of Examiners drawn from the General Panel of Review, with additional numbers drawn from among appropriate specialists in education and the behavioral sciences, to consider in detail the tests and measures related to the area of their concern and to advise the General Panel of Review regarding the quality of the tests and measures and the means for their improvement. 2.4. A broad program of research should be initiated forthwith for the purpose of (a) improving the educational output, especially those that have to do with the personal and social qualities of pupils and for which in many cases no satisfactory measures now exist, and (b) discovering those processes of education and conditions of learning that will maximize the quality of educational output under a variety of circumstances. This program of research should take full advantage of the outcomes of similar research being done elsewhere by adapting these outcomes to the needs of Pennsylvania. 2.5. In those cases where a school system, after applying the appropriate criteria, is dissatisfied with the level of performance of its pupils, such school systems should have the advice and assistance of the Department of Public Instruction in determining what changes in educational processes and/or in the conditions of RECOMMENDATIONS