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U.S. curriculum: guiding students toward failure
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The Third International Mathematics and Science Study took on a project to determine where our students measure up internationally in math and science (41 countries). In the end, they found disturbing results about U.S. 8th graders as well as the curriculum we give them.
Simply stated, this study found that the U.S. curriculum is a mess and students are (very likely) failing because of it. While other countries mandate what grades learn what concepts, U.S. curriculum seems to push "re-set" every year to try to cover as much as possible again, and again. This strategy leaves students knowing a little about a lot. Countries like Japan teach a few concepts each year in great depth, while our teachers are pushing through as much as they can. As a result, U.S. 8th graders are testing below average on international science and math tests, and Japanese students are at the top. The conclusion is that U.S. middle school students, even those who get good grades, don't really know any math and science concepts in great enough depth.
Even in states where curriculum guides are mandated in one way or another, this study found that there is no consistency from school to school, or even classroom to classroom. When viewing the curriculum guides in the Michigan, it is easy to see why teachers cannot cover anything in great depth. For example, the English Content Standards for high schools have 96 standards per year.
The other staggering discovery was that U.S. textbooks are way too big. While most other countries textbooks are under 200 pages each, U.S. textbooks are anywhere from 397-530 pages. The alarming part: this study was done on 4th grade textbooks.
The United States tends to live by a philosophy that more is better. For example, more standards=smarter students, more course options=a better school system, but sadly, the more we stray away from rigorously taught (and fewer) standards in core subjects, the more our students will fail internationally.
On a positive note, Michigan is currently one of 30 states involved in a nation-wide curriculum project that may very well assist educators with this problem. The idea is that all states will follow the same concept guide, just as most other countries.
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