S.C. Approves First Set of Curriculum Frameworks

By Debra Viadero

The South Carolina state school board last week approved a set of curriculum frameworks aimed at revitalizing the teaching of mathematics, visual and performing arts, and foreign languages.

In adopting the frameworks, South Carolina joins a growing number of states--among them California, Connecticut, and Maine--that seek to make curriculum the linchpin for a much broader school-reform effort. In all, the state plans to complete frameworks in eight subjects by 1995.

The board's 17-to-3 vote, however, came after a flurry of last-minute lobbying by conservative parents who said they feared the state was seeking to impose...