U Ideas of General Interest -- November 2000University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Contact: Craig Chamberlain, Education Editor (217) 333-2894; [email protected]
SCHOOLSMove toward standards slow in Illinois, as tests take higher priority
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- State learning standards are moving forward in Illinois schools, but very slowly, according to a recent University of Illinois report. One thing holding back implementation, ironically, is the test intended to measure how well the standards are being taught.
"In the minds of teachers, principals and superintendents, the important thing is to score high on the test [the Illinois Standards Achievement Test], and they don't necessarily see the Illinois Learning Standards as a way to do that," said Lizanne DeStefano, a UI professor of educational psychology. DeStefano co-wrote the report, a second-year assessment in a four-year study of standards implementation, along with Nona Prestine, a professor of educational organization and leadership.
The researchers found it common in schools that "people are skipping the standards step and they're just asking 'What do we need to do to get our kids to do better on the test?' " DeStefano said. "And the test score is what's driving it, instead of the underlying framework of standards."
Ideally, teachers should be confident that teaching the standards will raise test scores, but most educators remain to be convinced, Prestine said. Part of the problem, as many educators in the study saw it, "is that the items on the ISAT do not have a direct correlation to specific standards," she said.
And whereas most schools see little consequence if they're slow with standards, they "cannot afford to ignore the ISAT because there are direct consequences, for them and for their students," Prestine said. Many also remain to be convinced that standards will not be just another passing fad.
The recent report was drawn from surveys returned by 910 teachers and 68 principals at 62 schools throughout the state, and by 383 district superintendents. It also drew on an intensive study of four school districts, focusing on two schools from each district.
Based on the survey data, schools were placed along a five-level progression toward a standards-led system. Only about 19 percent were judged to be at level three, meaning they were taking significant steps in transitioning toward a standards-led system. That was up from 15 percent in 1999.
The vast majority, about 81 percent, were at level two, defined as "awareness and exploration," where their primary activity was in aligning the standards to their existing curriculum. This was up from 77 percent the year before.
The four-year UI study, funded by the Illinois State Board of Education, is rare, if not unique, in providing an independent, state-funded assessment of standards implementation, the researchers noted. Many other states have moved in the same direction without evaluating its progress.
To move standards forward, Prestine said the state needs to appreciate "the enormous amount of time and effort" that will be involved, and to help much more with the details. "They simply published [the standards], they gave them to schools, and said 'go to it,' and that was it," she said, "and unfortunately almost 90 percent of the schools in the state need a little more guidance than that."
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