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Social Meliorists
The work of Lester Frank Ward led to the creation of the the Social Meliorists and their movement. Although the group did not have the influence of the Social Efficiency or Developmentalist movements, the view that schools can be a major force of social change and can raise generations ready and able to deal with social ills has taken root, especially during the civil rights movement. -
Turn of the century
In late 19th century, education in America was dominated by the mental disciplinarians, a group who advocated that the mind is a muscle and if we worked it through drill, practice, discipline, and recitation, it would grow stronger. As school enrollment rose dramatically and new technologically advanced jobs demanded a better prepared worker, education needed to change. -
Hall and Developmentalists
G. Stanley Hall was the key figure among the Developmentalists, who believe that the natural order of development in a child should be the basis in determining what should be taught. In 1904, he disagrees with the findings of the Committee of Ten on 3 major points: 1. Not all students should be taught alike, 2. College prep education is not for everyone, and 3. Not all subjects are equally valuable. This sets the stage in the future for differentiation, although Hall wanted to sort students -
Social Efficiency Movement
Joseph Mayer Rice, a leader of the Social Efficiency movement, proposed that educational reform will begin with clearly defined goals and the ability to create a measurement tool to determine if the goal has been met. Clear standards and the ability to clearly define and measure them are a hallmark of modern American Education today -
IQ Testing
American version of IQ tests are implemented. They come to be used in schools in order to track students and put them in different programs. Students with lower IQs based on the tests were often put into more vocational or other schooling rather than preparation for higher education. There was an assumption that the students would never be capable of higher order thinking. -
Federal Funding
With the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, vocational education became a federally funded initiative. A big victory for Social Efficiency, it was the most success movement of the 20th century and is still a major piece of education in America today. With the arrival of federal funding, the door is open for the government to champion their own causes through available funds. -
Teachers Involved in Curriculum Design
In Denver there was the the beginning of active teacher participation in curriculum reform. -
State Curricula
States began to take a more active role in funding education after the Great Depression. Progress in curriculum development in cities such as Denver led to states developing statewide curriculum to improve educational outcomes, and increased collaboration for revision of curricula. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws segregating schools are unconstitutional. -
Cold War and Sputnik Launch
During the paranoia of the Cold War due the fear of nuclear war, schools regularly held drills for what to do in the event of an atomic bomb. The launch of the Sputnik rocket in the Soviet Union led to feelings in the U.S. that the education system was partly to blame. The U.S.'s failure to reach space first was the result of having not as good education, particularly in math, science and technology. This led to U.S. federal government increasing funding for schools, especially for these courses -
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is passed as a federal law prohibiting discrimination because of sex for any educational or other program receiving Federal financial aid. -
A Nation at Risk
Ronald Reagan's administration releases A Nation at Risk report which stated public schools were failing, and that there needed to be higher standards and accountability for schools, in addition to higher graduation standards. Business techniques would be applied to public schooling. Schools would compete.This led to a greater emphasis on standardized testing.