Introduction
Education is an important tool in the modern world. “Education has long served as the key to equal opportunity for American citizens” (State of Board of Education 1985, P.10).The state of North Carolina understands this and in a bid to improve the quality of education, has come up with various performance standards for the public schools. These documents target the students, teachers, schools and the nation in general. This essay discusses some of these documents briefly.
Analyses of the documents
North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards
This is a document containing the teaching standards that every teacher is required to adhere to, by taking leadership. “Teachers demonstrate leadership by taking responsibility for all students” (State of Board of Education 2006). It provides an instrument through which teachers are prepared, evaluated and developed in their careers.
It is short and precise stating out rightly the general roles for teaches inside and outside the classroom. It is clear to follow and easy to understand. The standards are also viewed as objectives that every teacher should seek to achieve and are organized in terms of content area.
The North Carolina Standard Course of Study
This is a very long document outlining the curriculum for North Carolina public schools. It’s a detailed document prescribing what students should be taught as they move from one level to the next. Reading it will take a lot of time and a teacher who is in a hurry may just go through only those areas relevant to his teaching, say certain subjects or the Grade he is involved with.
The objectives are clearly outlined according to Grades and require that a student should be well versed with each and every standard of a particular level before qualifying to join the next. They are also very specific and straight to the point.
NC Basic Skills Technical Assistance Report Performance Standards
This is a document that the state uses to assess the performance of colleges in North Carolina for purposes of funding schools. “The State of North Carolina requires all colleges to meet a Basic Skills performance standard of a 75% retention rate” (North Carolina Community College 2010, P.20).It is a relatively short document and its standards are very specific- they are not objectives to be aimed at but are mandatory- and based on Educational Functioning Levels (EFLs). It is easy to read through and understand.
North Carolina Reading Comprehension Tests
This is a document that stipulates the accountability of schools on the performance of students. “Schools are made accountable for the performance of students” (Bazemore, 2004). It is the schools obligation to ensure that students pass. It is a relatively long document but clear and easy to go through. The standards are well outlined and are realistic.
Comparison of documents
Similarities
The documents are very similar in that they are all describing the standards to be achieved by students. They are all aimed at improving the students’ academic performance and by that improving the standard of education throughout the state of North Carolina. They portray a situation where all stakeholders of a society join hands for the general betterment of their education system.
The performance of the students is then used as a reflection of the teachers’ hard work and competence. It is assumed that if the students’ performance is good, then the teachers must have diligently fulfilled their role. Even though there are documents outlining teachers’ standards, the teacher’s adherence to these standards can only be verified by looking at the student’s result slip.
Differences
The documents however have few differences here and there. To start with, each document is unique in its own way. The professional Teaching standards document only talks of those things that only a teacher can do such that it is only directed to the teacher alone. The State Performance standard document is directed to the whole school and majorly to the administration.
It’s telling the administration to manage the teachers as well as students to meet the set standards. The Standard Course of Study, however, is directed to the teacher ordering him to ensure that the students achieve the specified targets for every level. The North Carolina Reading Comprehension Tests is addressed to the whole school and makes the school accountable for student’s performance.
Documents support of educational process
The documents, if well followed, can be very effective in reinforcing the quality of education in the state of North Carolina. They ensure that each individual performs to his best standards and every faction is involved in it.
Not only are the students required to maintain a high academic performance but also the administration and teachers are expected to exhibit high standards of competence and professionalism. It’s the equivalent of several hands coming together to deal with a piece of work as a group. The result is not just a good performance in school but also a developed nation.
Ways a teacher would enhance student learning
By using the Professional Teaching Standards, he takes leadership both in classroom and outside and creates a suitable learning environment. The students are able to approach him and since he takes into consideration their special needs, they will like his teaching methods and this increases their understanding.
Through the Standard Course of Study, by using the prescribed objectives for every grade, the teacher will know what he is expected to teach and proceeds to classroom with that confidence. If, after assessing the students, they measure up to the prescribed standards, then he knows that he has achieved his target and students can proceed to the next level.
For the State Performance helps the teacher in pre-testing as well as post-testing by outlining which areas to be tested and also on the follow up measures he should employ. It also helps him in goal setting by interviewing the students on what his own goals are and reviewing them for the student.
Conclusion
Performance standard documents are important to every individual because they help everyone to understand their roles in the achievement of quality education. The objectives are well outlined and stakeholders are able to evaluate themselves against the set standards. However, they should not be unrealistic and they should be fairly flexible to allow new ideas to be incorporated as new circumstances arise.
References
Bazemore, M. et al. (2004). North Carolina Reading Comprehension Tests: Technical Report. Web.
North Carolina Community College. (2010). Academic and Support Services, Basic Skills Department. Framework for Program Quality: NC Basic Skills Technical Assistance Report: Performance Standards. Web.
State of Board of Education. (1985). North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Web.
State of Board of Education. (2006). NC Professional Teaching Standards. Web.