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Penn-Trafford School District |
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7-12 LA |
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7-12 LA - Addendums |
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Copyright Information
Copyright 2001, EdVISION.com Corp. and
Penn-Trafford School District
Administration Building
Box 580
Harrison City, Pa 15636
Copyright 2000, EdVISION.com Corp. and
Penn-Trafford School District
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Introduction
The Pennsylvania Academic Standards include standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Mathematics at levels 3, 5, 8, and 11. They were published by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in 1998.
The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) provides reading and writing assessments for students at various levels from grade 5 through grade 11.
The International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English published the draft copy of the Standards for the English Language Arts in July, 1995. This draft is intended for response, not quotation.
These standards represent what every 18 year old should be able to know and do to achieve power and excellence though literacy and to live as a productive member of a democratic society. These standards are considerably more demanding than those set in 1950, 1980, and 1990. The difficulty level reflects the advanced and broad set of language arts processes today's students will need to live and work in the early 21st century.
The standards were written on the following premises:
* "Communities have the moral obligation to provide conditions that enable their schools and teachers to support students' efforts to learn."
* "Students bear a responsibility for accepting and striving to attain the stated standards."
* "Every student should have the opportunity to meet the criteria for these standards, but not every standard will be attained by exactly the age of 18 when the conditions of premises 1 and 2 are not fulfilled."
The standards were written with underlying philosophical assumptions. Educators should approach the standards using these assumptions as a foundational perspective. Educators should:
* "Understand the core educational values of a democratic society."
* "Recognize the diversity of the cultural, social, and economic environments in which students live, diversity that must be respected and taken into account as students enter and progress through school."
* "Recognize the principles of moral, ethical, financial, and educational equity that must be adhered to if these standards are to be met in all quarters of this nation."
* "Adhere to certain known and generally-accepted principles of teaching and learning."
* "Expect educators to live up to our professional responsibilities."
The standards were written with underlying philosophical assumptions about values. Educators should approach the standards using these value assumptions as a foundational perspective. Educators should understand that:
* "All students should have educational opportunities that join teaching and learning in environments demanding and supporting high standards of performance."
* "The foci of standard of performance are the strategies and abilities that enable students to become powerful and excellent readers, writers, listeners, speakers, viewers, and representers who can bring their critical, intellectual, and aesthetic abilities to full participation in society."
* "The technology that will be a part of the economic and political realities of the 21st century must be included in all forms of educational programming and made accessible to all students."
The standards were written with underlying philosophical assumptions about diversity. Educators should approach the standards using these assumptions regarding diversity as a foundational perspective. Educators should understand that:
* "Diversity is a strength of a democratic society and must be recognized and respected."
* "The right of all students to use and develop their native languages or dialects shall not be abridged; but all students must also become competent speakers and writers of conventional English, such as that used in the national media."
The standards were written with underlying philosophical assumptions about equity. Educators should approach the standards using these assumptions regarding equity as a foundational perspective. Educators should understand that:
* "All schools must be safe environments conducive to learning. The epidemic of violence in schools and neighborhoods is the most serious threat to achieving these standards. Sadly, this epidemic is spreading even into areas once considered safe and there is, perhaps, no more important issue for educators and policy makers to confront."
* "Schools cannot bear total responsibility for all the learning and training deficits that befall American society and its workers since many children come to school with limited prior experience with literacy, poor nutrition and health histories, and so on. Effective standard setting and achievements must recognize that children must grow up in safe, healthy, and educationally supportive environments and it is the society's responsibility to make every effort to ensure this happens. Schools must, of course, teach the students that are actually arriving each year, but educators and students both need help in providing the necessary support before children start school to ensure that each child is ready to take maximum advantage of what is available."
* "To provide equal opportunity for every student to meet stated educational standards, it will be necessary to tailor financial, educational, and other resources to the specific needs of each of the diverse cultures and communities of this nation."
* "The investment in education in the United States should equal or exceed that of any other nation."
The standards were written with underlying philosophical assumptions about educational professionalism. Educators should approach the standards using these assumptions regarding professionalism as a foundational perspective. Educators should understand that:
* "As in the case in and successful corporation or agency, a responsible educational program is dependent upon continual and up-to-date educational training programs for teachers, administrators, and other professional personnel of schools."
* "Although it is normal for students to enter classrooms varying in attitude, academic ability, interests, and motivation, the teacher and school must take full responsibility for each and every student's reading, writing, and other language arts standards."
The standards are not intended as, or to be used as, an attack on public schools, teachers, or students, a means of establishing a national curriculum, a model for standardized schooling, a way to limit individualism in terms of personal freedom or learning style, or as the recommendation or advocacy of any one instructional method or educational philosophy.
The Standards for the English Language Arts was published by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English in 1996. "This document is the result of an intensive four-year project involving thousands of educators, researchers, parents, policymakers, and others across the country. Our shared purpose is to ensure that all students are knowledgeable and proficient users of language so that they may succeed in school, participate in our democracy as informed citizens, and pursue their own goals and interests as independent learners throughout their lives."
The Higher Order Learning (1999) curriculum offers Grade 4 through Grade 12 objectives for the Synthesis and Evaluation levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. EdVISION.com developed this curriculum based on extensive research of standardized and state tests. Additional objectives were added to enhance the content areas.
The Pennsylvania Academic Standards include standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Mathematics at levels 3, 5, 8, and 11. They were published by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in 1998.
The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) provides reading and writing assessments for students at various levels from grade 5 through grade 11.
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Ordering Information
For ordering information, contact:
Penn-Trafford School District
Administration Building
Box 580
Harrison City, Pa 15636
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