Seven school systems across the nation have been selected to participate in a project sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals to “streamline” the curriculum from grade to grade.
Looking at education from kindergarten through the first year of college, the seven systems will try to eliminate subject-matter duplications between grades and make certain that lessons are covered in an appropriate sequence.
“For more than two years now, America has been clamoring for better results in schools, and the focus has primarily been on the high school,” said Scott Thomson, executive director of the nassp “The high school is certainly important, but to think that we can improve education without strengthening what precedes and succeeds the high school is shortsighted.”
He noted that when students move from one grade to the next or from one level of schooling to another, they often repeat material they have already studied. Other times, teachers neglect information that they errone-4ously believe pupils mastered before.
During the three-year demonstration project, the seven school systems will develop procedures to alleviate such transition problems. “Our objective in this project is to define standards and expectations more clearly for students,” said Gilbert Weldy, the project’s director. ''Student learning outcomes will be carefully defined and objectively evaluated.”
The project, which is underwritten by a $140,000 grant from the William and Mary Greve Foundation, is being conducted with the cooperation of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and the National Association of College Admissions Counselors.
The participating school systems are Chino (Calif.) Unified School District; Gwinnette County (Ga.), Public Schools; Kansas City (Mo.) Public Schools; Keene (N.H.) School District; Metropolitan School District of Warren Township, Ind.; Okmulgee (Okla.) Independent School System; and Saginaw (Mich.) Public School System.--lo
