ABSTRACT
To move forward in any enterprise, standard setting or otherwise, it is often wise to review the past years to learn what happened, why it happened, and to see if there are consequences that should be noted before going forward. Standards have been in place for decades but in different forms. Five decades ago, educational standards were mostly qualitative and based on the informed judgment of professionals. Schools were accredited by regional or national associations that sent visiting teams to inspect schools to ascertain their quality in relation to the criteria established by the association responsible for the accreditation. Test score achievement with standards was not typically used as criteria for accreditation. Previously, standards for students were set by teachers and largely reflected in the students’ grades. Teachers decided if the student was ready for promotion to the next grade or there may have been a policy of social promotion that determined how many times, if any, that a student could be retained. There were also qualitative standards for the curriculum. The phrase meeting the needs of all students was often used by accreditation teams in reviewing the curriculum. Obviously, these criteria were largely judgmental in terms of what certain students needed to succeed in that school and what the public in the district expected from the school. The system was largely self-contained, with professionals in charge and little public transparency. The system did, however, have the finesse that was needed to allow for students with special needs to be accommodated. Allowances were made for schools or teachers with special needs classes to deal appropriately with the curriculum and instructional objectives. In fact, they were expected to do so.
