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Committee of Ten
The Committee of Ten is important to education because they created a standard curriculum that students must follow in order to graduate and recommended the 12 year schooling system that is still used to this day. Without the Committee of Ten, many guidelines that exist today (e.g., Common Core Standards) would likely not have such an emphasis on the core subjects. This event made the cut because it guides modern day curriculum and set the standard amount of years that students attend school. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This event has heavily influenced the success of minority children over the past few decades, and recently, schools are not seeing as much racism. Today, schools are not allowed to use any binary concept of race and must be color-blind to avoid discrimination. This event made the cut because it has granted minority students an equal educational opportunity while reducing the achievement gap between white and minority students, bringing the education system closer to becoming the great equalizer. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142)
PL 94-142 has positively impacted disabled students by providing appropriate educational services, paving the road for special education in classrooms today. Nowadays, students with disabilities are included in public schools and spend a large portion of their school day in general classes. This event made the cut because it has allowed disabled students to receive a fair education with student rights and responsibilities that their peers share while removing the stigma around special education. -
A Nation at Risk
Since the release of A Nation at Risk, modern day schools have implemented more rigorous and measurable standards. A Nation at Risk essentially reversed the direction that public education was heading, influencing teachers and schools to move back towards traditional philosophies. This event made the cut because it has prompted a large amount of modern day teachers to hold students to high standards and employ traditional teaching styles, focusing on the subject material over the student. -
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
In an attempt to create equal achievement among all students, NCLB increased the accountability of schools/teachers and the expectations of students that is still seen in schools today. NCLB stressed the importance of standardized tests, which has influenced many modern day teachers to strictly follow educational standards. This event made the cut because it links assessment scores to school funding and pushes teachers to level the playing field for students from all backgrounds.
