Deep Curriculum Alignment

11 Pages 2802 Words

until just recently. I have always assumed that testing was used to improve deficient schools, but now I am changing my views somewhat. I also found English’s definition of curriculum in use particularly thought provoking, after all, the only curriculum that really matters is the one that is being taught in the classroom.
The chapter concludes by exploring the ramifications of meritocracy and its effect on test scores. I have always understood the implications of a child’s family status and his tests scores but I do not believe, until now, that I understood the full scope of this problem. For the first time, I am really beginning to examine the legitimacy of high-stake testing. I also found the statement that English presents concerning the outcome of the tests of particular interest. English argues that we should recognize that the tests in use are flawed tools. We should not believe that children who do not score well on these tests are in some way genetically or inherently inferior. Academic readiness is defined by a culture; therefore, it seems, according to English, that almost any standardized test is going to be bias in some way or the other.










Chapter Two
Chapter two entitled, “Understanding the Dynamics of the Playing Field,” examines the correlation between the curriculum and the tests. The chapter suggests that curriculum alignment will raise the probability that the written curriculum will be learned because it is what will taught in the classroom. Interestingly, this chapter discusses that although our country very strictly defines foreign policy and military intervention, no such objectives or curriculum guides American schools. Put simply, there is no American curriculum. This raises the question: How does a nation without a national curriculum design a test to measure its schools? In a perfect world where there was a national curriculum, test makes would design the test that ...