Transition:
Why Change? Why Now?
There are many forces driving the changes in our schools.
Our world and our economy are changing from an industrial society to one based on services and technology. Schools need to change to provide our children with the skills to excel in that environment.
Nor can schools any longer accept that a significant number of their students don’t achieve academic success. For students who are doing well or are at least getting by, things may seem fine as they are. For the parents of such students, who also tend to be the most involved and comfortable with the system, change may even seem threatening.
But for far too many students in our schools and schools nationwide, the picture is not as perfect as we’d like to think. Even without standardized tests, there is considerable evidence that far too many of our students are not learning even the minimum skills; a significant number don’t even graduate from high school.
(Never mind that, with all of the changes in our world and economy, future economic success is likely to be limited without some form of continuing education after high school.)
When you factor in statewide scores on standardized tests such as the WASL and the ITBS, it soon becomes apparent that the majority of students are not reaching the established “standards”.