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The Impact of Jefferson, Rush, & Webster (Most Important)
Three men accredited for forming plans for a new education system in the newly formed U.S.A. were Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Rush, and Noah Webster. In particular, Jefferson advocated for public education for citizens. This is significant because it set the precedence for public education which continues in the US to the present, though it has been expanded to include other non-whites as well. https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/excursions/thomas-jefferson-public-education-part-1 -
Northwest Land Ordinance (1785) (Most Important)
Helped to consolidate schools and make education mandatory. This ordinance set aside what was known as Section Sixteen in every township in the new Western Territory for the maintenance of public schools. Public schools were organized to corral the best minds for training for public leadership. This is important because it set the standard for communities including a space for school buildings in their cities, which continues today
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Northwest-Ordinances -
Horace Mann (Most Important)
Mann advocated that citizens cannot maintain both ignorance and freedom, that education should be paid for, controlled and maintained by the public, provided in schools that embrace children from varying backgrounds, nonsectarian, taught using tenets of a free society; and this education must be provided by well-trained, professional teachers. These factors opened the way for public education as we know it today.
http://www.biography.com/people/horace-mann-9397522 -
Committee of 10
Acknowledged the terminal as well as the college preparatory function of the high school, but proceeded to recommend a curriculum entirely oriented towards the college-bound student. The report of the Committee of Ten established college domination over the high school curriculum and "determined the course of American secondary education for a generation following its publication"(Butts and Cremin 1952, p. 390.). -
The Measurement Movement
French psychologist Alfred Binet in 1905 published the Binet-Simon test, which focused on verbal abilities. It was intended to identify mental retardation in school children. The score on the Binet-Simon scale would reveal the child's mental age. For example, a six-year-old child who passed all the tasks usually passed by six-year-olds—but nothing beyond—would have a mental age that matched his chronological age, 6.0. (Fancher, 1985). IQ Test -
Secondary School Movement
1910 to 1940 saw the rise of secondary schools, with local districts setting standards and helping to determine curriculum. During this early part of the 20th century, American youth entered high schools at a rapid rate, mainly due to the building of new schools, and acquired skills "for life" rather than "for college." During this time period, there still remained a racial divide among the education of white and black students, which would continue until 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education. -
Impact of John Dewey
John Dewey was influential in changing the focus of education from the school to the student. He and others developed curricula and methodologies that focused on activities and projects, discovery, investigation, and real-world experiences. Dewey declared that education was not a preparation for life, but a part of life itself. Established teaching methodology as a science and ensuring that it was as important as mastery of any subject area on the path to teacher certification. -
The Impact of WW2 (Most Important)
Schools focused on teaching students skills necessary to winning the war. Colleges and universities were called upon to devote their resources and efforts to the preparation of their students not only for service in the armed forces but for technical services in war industries and other occupations created to meet war needs. With Sputnik, WW2 helped to shape modern education in the US, with focus on mat/sci
https://archive.org/stream/impactofthewarup008915mbp/impactofthewarup008915mbp_djvu.txt -
Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954 (Most Important)
Overturned provisions of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which had allowed for “separate but equal” public facilities, including public schools in the United States. Declaring that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,” the Brown v. Board decision helped break the back of state-sponsored segregation. This impacts classrooms today with all races being allowed to attend and gain an equal ed.
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka -
NDEA
NDEA was among many science initiatives implemented by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 to increase the technological sophistication and power of the United States. It followed a growing national sense that U.S. scientists were falling behind scientists in the Soviet Union. The early Soviet success in the Space Race catalyzed a national sense of unease with Soviet technological advances, especially after the Soviet Union launched the first-ever satellite, Sputnik, the previous year. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed as a part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty". The act is an extensive statute that funds primary and secondary education. It also emphasizes equal access to education and establishes high standards and accountability. In addition, the bill aims to shorten the achievement gaps between students by providing each child with fair and equal opportunities to achieve an exceptional education. -
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 1975
Ensures students with a disability are provided with Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability. Until its implementation, many students with disabilities were excluded from educational opportunities. -
A Nation at Risk Report, 1983
The 1983 report of American President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education. Its publication is considered a landmark event in modern American educational history. Among other things, the report contributed to the ever-growing assertion that American schools were failing, and it touched off a wave of local, state, and federal reform efforts. Referencing tests conducted in the 1970s, the study points to unfavorable comparisons with students outside the U.S. -
No Child Left Behind, 2001
Supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels. The Act did not assert a national achievement standard. Each individual state developed its own standards. -
ESSA, 2015
The bill is the first to narrow the United States federal government's role in elementary and secondary education since the 1980s. The ESSA retains the hallmark annual standardized testing requirements of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act but shifts the law's federal accountability provisions to states. Under the new law, students will continue to take annual tests between third and eighth grade
