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The First Charter School
City Academy High School is opened in Minnesota, becoming the first charter school in the United States. The school was publicly funded, a really helped catapult the charter school movement. According to NPR there are now over 5,600 charter schools that serve 5% of the K-12 student population.
Source:
Sanchez, C. (2012, August 31). From a single charter school, a movement grows. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2012/09/02/160409742/from-a-single-charter-school-a-movement-grows -
Goals 2000: The Educate America Act
This Clinton Era act created 8 national goals for education, 6 of which were suggested by the National Education Goals Panel and 2 which were added by Congress. The Act also included a grant program that encouraged states to develop standards and measure schools progress towards those goals. Unlike most education initiatives, it did not target a specific student population.
Source:
New York State Archives. (n.d.). The Clinton Years: Goals 2000. In Federal Education Policy and the States, 1945-2 -
Improving America’s Schools Act
IASA was essentially a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act, but with a lot of changes. It required that both Title I and non-Title I students meet standards developed by their states under Goals 2000. This dissolved States ability set different standards for Title I students. It also created the Eisenhower Professional Development Program, a new technology program, and added to the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act.
Source:
New York State Archives. (n.d.). -
Columbine Shooting
Arguably the changing point in how America handles public school safety, Columbine opened a national debate into gun control and how schools should be prepared for emergencies. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 and injured more than 20 individuals in a planned shooting at their high school. Since then, schools have invested in metal detectors and private security, but the debate about whether schools are actually safer is still continuing. Calefati, J. (2009, April 17). School Safety, 10 -
No Child Left Behind Act
Widely considered the most influential education initiative in more than a decade, NCLB a revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. According to the Illinois Board of Education, “The overall purpose of the law is to ensure that each child in America is able to meet the high learning standards of the state where he or she lives” (n.d.) The law sets several specific goals for schools, and dictates that they make adequate yearly progress. Whether this has been effective or detrimental -
Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 2004)
The 2004 changes to the IDEA include increased requirements for identifying students with disabilities, Response-to-Intervention (RTIs), and changes to how IEPs are done. It also added that teachers who work in Special Education must be highly qualified according to the standards set in the act. (Council for Exceptional Children, n.d.)
Sources
Council for Exceptional Children. (n.d.). A Primer on the IDEA 2004 Regulations. Retrieved from http://www.cec.sped.org/Policy-and-Advocacy/Current-Sped- -
Common Core Standards Initiative
The National Governors Association (NGA) and Council Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) release the Common Core State Standards, which had been developed with participation from 51 states and territories. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative by 2014 43 states were in the process of implementing the standards. Sources
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). Development Process. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/development-process/. -
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) (2012)
Just as the Common Core State Standards start to gain momentum, the PISA results for 2012 are released, showing that U.S. students were below average in math. The actual scores from the U.S. hadn’t changed much, but other countries had increased.
Sources
Chappell, B. (2013, December 3). U.S. Students Slide In Global Ranking On Math, Reading, Science. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/12/03/248329823/u-s-hig