Getting to the bottom of K-12 transformation
Oregon's elementary and secondary school classrooms will experience dramatic changes over the next few years, but do teachers and students know what those changes will be?
By Andrew Blazier
You might have children in the public school system. You might be in the public school system. You might want to be a teacher someday. You might even be a teacher right now. One thing is certain: If you're involved in Oregon schools, the landscape will look very different by the beginning of the 1998-99 school year.
Why? It's all the result of a process called K-12 school transformation. Oregonians know it by different names. "Higher standards" are a big part of the process, but what exactly do the new standards mean? Many still wonder whether CIMs and CAMs are computer chips and auto parts or keys to the future of education. Some talk of transformation as the school-to-work program. Others see changes in teacher training and college admissions requirements.
So, what is it?
Oregon's upheaval of traditional education, known as the K-12 school transformation, is all of these things and more. To help readers sift through all the acronyms and jargon, here is a brief summary of the key elements of Oregon's new public education plan.Changes in teaching
In the past, disciplines were taught independently (math was taught in a math class, science in a science class). Now, subjects are being integrated with each other. Reading about immigration would count as both reading/English and social studies. Then, if the students were to graph some immigration statistics or numbers, that graphing would also count as math.Integrated education lets teachers cover more ground.
Teacher training
University of Oregon education professors are integrating performance-based assessment training into their curricula. Most of the new teachers' training, though, will come from cooperating teachers who mentor student-teachers in K-12 classes.What teachers are learning
Performance-based assessment
In conjunction with the standards established by CIM/CAM--the new credentials of academic achievement that 10th- and 12th-grade students will pursue--the Oregon University System is developing a new approach to college admissions. This system, referred to as Proficiency-based Admission Standards System (PASS), is intended to phase out traditional college admission requirements (such as grades and SAT scores) and implement higher standards, as demonstrated by CIM/CAM.PASS aligns university admissions with new K-12 standards.
Providing extra help
Transformation plans include provisions for teachers and parents to focus on individual needs -- to help prevent kids from falling through the cracks. How will teachers help special-education students achieve the new, higher standards? In addition, kids who don't try may be especially challenged by the standards passed by Oregon's state legislature.Will non-traditional students be able to compete?
Business involvement
A major intent of K12 transformation in Oregon is to prepare students for the world of work. In a small town in the southern Willamette Valley, small and big businesses have worked closely with the school district on a school-transformation pilot project that has been underway since 1991. Statewide, business organizations are behind school transformation, but they foresee some problems with implementation.A look at the link between business and education.
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New standards A site created by the Oregon Public Education Network details the new performance standards for students.
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