Pre K - 12 & PSRP Public Education Issues Platform

High Academic Standards

To achieve high academic standards it takes more than setting standards and testing students. Reassessing, developing and aligning standards, curriculum, classroom instruction, professional development, high quality tests and funding to provide assistance with redesigning schools to raise student achievement, are necessary to achieve the kind of standards-based reform public schools need to better prepare all Michigan children to be productive, successful members of society.

We urge elected officials to support these elements of success:

• Common Academic Standards: Our schools need common, publicly known, rigorous, clear and specific standards for what students should know and are able to achieve at each level and from grade to grade. Significant work has been done strengthening standards and aligning curriculum to these standards. Additional work needs to be done to strengthen curriculum in all subject areas. Teachers should be involved in the development of grade-by-grade curriculums;



• Assessments: Tests administered by the state must be based on the standards and must ensure the results reflect student growth in both skill and knowledge at the appropriate grade and performance level. Too often high-stakes decisions are based on a single test, forcing educators to spend excessive amounts of time preparing students for the test that is not aligned with curriculum. Tests must not drive the system;



• Explicit Rewards for Achievement: We need to acknowledge and reward student achievement gains, such as eligibility for college and training programs, and preference for job placement;



• Student Support: Providing a strong academic foundation at the lower elementary level (K-3) and providing quality pre-school education should be the focus, particularly in lower socioeconomic communities. As students progress through school, quality early intervention programs must be made available to students identified as at risk of failing to reach established goals.

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