Issue of National Educational Standards

Today, many of the people protesting the imposition of national standards are those of the evangelical religious tradition as well as conservative political tradition. Their basis for objection to national standards is not a matter of what is set but a matter of who set it. The most common basis for unification against an arm of the federal government imposing standards on local schools is that the parents of the local school should be deciding for themselves what their children learn. The local school is supported by property tax money earned by local residents who want, therefore, to have a say in how their money is spent. Additionally, the politically conservative object on the basis of an additional federal government expense (to draft the standards) which is unnecessary, redundant, and potentially insulting in its implication that the local standards are insufficient

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nt objectives" were assessed in the same report. Locally, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported "Almost 60 percent of California's fourth graders are unable to read at a level considered basic, according to the results of a national test released Thursday. The results place California in a tie for dead last among the 39 states that took the voluntary assessment" ("Poor Reading," April 28, 1995, p. A1) The low scores of the high school students which the New York Times reported is a good argument for the need for national standards, so that schools can no longer slide by anonymously and fail to teach. However, the fact that California tried just such an improvement in standards, which resulted in a natural change in methods, showed what is possible if not what is likely. Many students now cannot read. The Daily Bulletin continued blaming the absence of phonics instruction. Even the major proponent of the change, convicted felon former state superintendent of schools Bill Honig admitted that confusion over administration of the program resulted in thousands of teachers abandoning phonics" ("Poor Reading," p. A8). Additionally, the CLAS assessment has been vilified by conservatives who have seen the test and by liberals who
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3480
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page)

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