college of education | fall 1998

Conference Focuses On National Standards

The College of Education hosted a conference in May that brought together education leaders and scholars from throughout the nation to discuss educational standards and the many issues that surround the sometimes contentious issue.

Entitled National Conference on Education Standards: Examining the Issues, the three-day event drew a large gathering of education leaders, policymakers, practioners, researchers and others interested in educational standards for student academic performance.

Barbara Markle, director of K-12 outreach at the college and who coordinated the conference, said the purpose was to create a forum in which a broad range of educators could discuss the complex issue.

In recent years the call for state and national standards has grown, and the debate also has intensified. What should the standards be? Who should set them? Should student performance standards be the doorway to educational reform? All these questions are issues of debate, and Markle said the conference was geared at allowing teachers, policymakers and academics to explore and examine the potential impact that state, national and even international performance standards have on schools and curriculum.

Participants had the opportunity to hear from experts as well as interact with them and each other in a number of breakout sessions.

Among the speakers were William Schmidt, professor in the Department of Counseling, Education Psychology and Special Education and national project coordinator of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS).

Other speakers included Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and Economy and the co-author of Standards for Our Schools, Matt Gandal, director of standards and achievement at Achieve, Inc., Edward Roeber, director of student assessment programs for the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Gary Sykes, professor in the Department of Educational Administration.

Attendees lauded the conference and its focus. Among some of those who completed evaluation forms, one participant wrote that it was the "best conference I have ever attended and I’ve attended many." Another participant wrote, "It was a very stimulating conference on an important issue. It had some excellent presenters and stimulating conversation."

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