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Look at the Students to Determine Effective Teaching in Curriculum Reform

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Effective Teaching in Curriculum Reform What is the most important factor in curriculum reform movements? Is it standardized test scores or the qualification of being a good teacher? Nope. Although these factors are significant in promoting curriculum reform, however, they concentrate on either the higher students' academic performance or the more rigorous requirements of teachers. In order to successfully satisfy the needs of students, it is better for the policymakers to put themselves into students' shoes to measure the achievement of teaching by evaluating the students' passion and progress in the teaching process rather than only test scores or teacher evaluations. In brief, refining the current assessment system to measure the…show more content…
In fact, standardized test scores of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in Philadelphia had been successfully increasing steadily from 2002 to 2011, and its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) had been maintained at least 40% from 2004 to 2011 under NCLB; however, the test scores started to drop in 2012 and the percentage of AYP declined from 42% in 2011 to 13% (The PEW Charitable Trust, 2013). According to the School District of Philadelphia (2013a), the percentage of students in scoring proficient or advanced continued to drop from 44.8% to 42.3% in reading and 50.9% to 46.9% in mathematics in 2013. These data show that the students’ academic performance was significantly lagging behind the goal of the reform, as approximately 90% in proficient or advanced in both reading and mathematics (2013b). As a result, the Pennsylvania Department of Education ([PDE], 2013a) decided to request a waiver from NCLB, and this request has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2013, in order to provide better education to the children instead of chasing a goal that cannot be reached. Besides curriculum reform in the nation, PDE has attempted to implement two new evaluation systems for the 2013-2014 school year. One of them is designed for the teachers in order to offer more effective teachers to the children.
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