Why Standards Matter

According to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Education, 73% of families indicated that "dissatisfaction with academic instruction" was a primary driver behind their decision to homeschool. The emphasis on teaching to the test that has been exacerbated by the No Child Left Behind Act has left many schools teaching (and repeating) low-level skills rather than encouraging innovation and creative thinking in our brightest students (see More Than A Number). As you design your own approach to homeshooling, it is important not to confuse the focus on testing at many schools as an indictment of the state and national standards that outline what should be taught.

On Babies and Their Bathwater

I believe that there are misconceptions in the homeschooling community about the use of standards in education. In a rush to get away from the style of teaching children received in school, many parents assume that teaching to any state and national standards must necessarily be dry, boring, and low-level. This is not true at all. The standards actually help us know what should be taught each year so that our children do not have gaps in what they learn. Standards are created by groups of experts in education and various fields of study who have come together to outline important skills and knowledge in each academic area. Scientists help determine the standards in science, historians in history, mathematicians in math, etc. Much time and effort go into developing solid and appropriate guidelines for each grade. Standards do not have to hinder or limit what our children learn, and they can be helpful guides along the journey of educating our children.

The national standards and many of the state standards are actually quite broad in their nature. They are not just a list of facts to be memorized but for the most part outline the skills, knowledge, and understanding that children will practice and attain. You can still implement a creative, hands-on curriculum that challenges students to higher levels of thinking while following standards. In fact, in many ways it is easier and more effective to create this type of curriculum while following standards because you know what content should be taught at each grade level and can make sure that the skills and information are developmentally appropriate. At MBTP we follow standards, but we integrate creativity, exploration, higher-level thinking, and problem solving into the topics being studied — this is where most schools fall short. Applying these strategies can be an extremely effective way for students to attain skills and knowledge while ensuring that instruction it is not dry, boring, or low-level.

Why Do Standards Matter for Homeschoolers?

As educators of our children, we are responsible for providing them with an education that will help them become productive and contributing citizens. Most homeschool parents want their children to pursue collegiate studies, and many parents choose homeschooling for a season and then put their children back into a classroom setting. If we follow the standards, we will not have to be concerned about whether a child has the knowledge base required to be successful in a different educational environment. We also know we are preparing our children for higher education in whatever field they choose. I have found that many homeschool programs may prepare children for a liberal arts education but can be lacking in the areas of math, science, problem solving, and technical innovation, and these, to a great degree, are the fields of the future.

State and national standards are a great tool to ensure that students are learning the necessary skills and knowledge in the different subject areas at each grade level. This allows you to know what topics to teach in each subject at each level. Without state standards, there would be no guarantee that a child would have a sufficient knowledge base and skill level to progress through high school and into higher education. The standards also build from year to year so the foundation that is set in younger grades is continually added, expanded, and explored in greater depth with each passing year.

There is a movement popular in homeschooling called the Core Knowledge Sequence that is often used as an alternative to the state and national standards. The Core Knowledge Sequence, when compared to state and national standards, is an unusually specific list of facts for children to learn at each age level. This list may feel rather limiting and daunting to parents. Following a Core Knowledege curriculum is not the same as implementing a curriculum based on standards. Our goal is not to have our children become just memorizers of facts but instead to become thinkers and problem solvers.

Let me give you an example. In my home state of North Carolina, the state has mapped out four or five broad science topics that should be covered in each grade level in elementary school. It is not a list of hundreds of facts about science but rather a list of broad topics such as life cycles, the solar system, or the human body along with a short list of skills and knowledge that should be attained in each of these areas. This approach provides much more freedom for integrating best teaching practices than would an approach that focuses on a list of facts to be memorized. To be sure, there are facts that need to be memorized, but skills and understanding are also crucial.

How Moving Beyond the Page Uses Standards

I encourage you not to see state and national standards as limiting but rather as helpful tools to make your job easier. In Moving Beyond the Page, we base our curriculum on standards so that we can ensure your child is learning the necessary skills and knowledge, but we do not let the standards hinder children. We are constantly challenging children to higher-level thinking skills, and we offer a level of challenge and creativity that goes far beyond the standards. We view the standards as a starting point and guide, not as a rule book that defines success.

In our curriculum design, we use many research-based strategies along with the standards so that children truly receive a meaningful, engaging, and challenging education. We believe that when we combine strategies like concepts, multiple intelligences, and differentiation, children will receive a complete and well-rounded education that covers the necessary facts and skills while also teaching them to think critically and creatively.