Besides the obvious question “Is standards-based education the best way to educate students?” (you did think of that, right?), how does one prove that this particular version of standards-based implementation is the best? In fact, my gut feeling is that the “run of the mill” standards-based education that some educational software companies are marketing to is actually an easier route to take than …. well, there are other ways to teacher, aren’t there?

In the span of roughly one Presidential Administration, everyone now thinks in terms of “standards-based” education.

Again, name another way to educate…

And I’ll make the proposition that to have an exclusive “standards-based” education is detrimental to students. To say, meet these standards or benchmarks, is not pushing all students, it is encouraging the majority of our students to meet the minimum standard. Feel welcome in telling me that the glory of NCLB is that we should be educating all students. Remind me that shouldn’t the job of public education be to make sure–at least– all students should do the bare minimum to be a “productive member of society.”

I’ll listen, but I am not convinced that I should be asking for the bare minimum. Aren’t the better teachers the ones that push you way beyond the minimum requirements? Are we satisfied with graduates that work only up to the point of what is expected, instead of pushing the limits within their own potential? Are you satisfied with a work force (which, btw, I am not convince is the reason why we educate) that is–at best–“standard”?

So, as we look at the marketing of educational software, when you see “standards-based” anywhere in the glossy literature, be cautious; you should try and look beyond the promises and delve deep into the software’s “research” white papers. (Another word to watch out for: research or the partnered “research-based” combo). It’s in those 40+ pages of justification of a software’s existence that we might find something beyond a standard marketing idea.

Next post, I’ll give some credence or specifics to this little rant.