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The Constitution and separation of church and state
Our nation's framers felt that church and state should be separate and by ratifying the Constitution, the States made separation of church and state law. Education, which had serving a primarily religious purpose, was now charged with preparing citizens to participate in a democratic society. Teachers' curriculum changed to reflect the new purpose of education. The separation of church and state provided the platform on which the nation's schools would grow. -
Manufacturing and the changing population
In the early 1800s, most of our nation's population lived in rural settings and worked on farms. After 1825, with the rise of manufacturing, people started moving to towns and cities for work. The new economy brought change to social and educational institutions. Because families were no longer farming, their children had more time to attend school; however, existing schools could not handle the increasing population. Citizens started demanding that public funds be used to improve schools. -
Immigration, 1840-1910
During the last half of the 19th century, immigrants, largely from western Europe, arrived in the United States at a rate of approximately 500,000 per year. The growing population needed an institution to provide citizens with a common experience and civic education. Schools took on this role, increasing the number and diversity of students. As school systems grew it became clear that they were disorganized. State control of schools became the answer to providing better education. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a supreme court case that struck down the social construct "separate, but equal." Desegregating schools, this court case was the first step to all people gaining equity in education. In theory, schools were integrated and marginalized students had access to more, and better, resources. However, systematic segregation, bias, and racism were complicating factors to integrating schools. Today, educators are still working for more equitable education for all. -
The No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was the first serious attempt by the federal government to address the achievement gap. NCLB utilized standardized testing at certain grade levels to compare the progress of students across all subgroups. The focus on testing caused curriculum to narrow, concentrating more on reading and math. Nation wide, elementary students did improve in reading and math and narrowed the achievement gap. Middle and high school students showed less progress.
