Education
Forney superintendent tightening curriculum

Apr 15, 2008

The state has a set of educational objectives for each class. But they are so broad that teachers in classrooms next to each other teaching the same subject might have completely different lessons.

Forney Superintendent Darrell Brown wants to tighten the district’s curriculum, putting teachers in the same chapter, if not always on the same page.

“It will be non-negotiable – here’s what children should be learning,” Dr. Brown said. Teaching creativity will come in the actual instruction.

“We’ll be tight on curriculum, loose on delivery,” he said.

For instance the state may list a dozen objectives for a single class such as fifth grade math -- students must learn a variety of lessons based on fractions and decimals. Only a few of those objectives are tested on the TAKS.

A district-wide curriculum would assure that all teachers are working on the same objectives at about the same time.

“They would know that the six weeks test would cover these 12 objectives,” Dr. Brown said. At the end of the year, all the students in a particular course or grade would have the same background and skills.

The school board approved a contract for an on-line system to help schools and teachers curriculum. It costs $10 per student and an assessment linked to the curriculum will be an additional $4 per student.

The assessment package includes test questions that teachers may use but mostly helps analyze data to help teachers understand what students get or what they need additional help with, Dr. Brown said.

He said the package from the state’s Region 4 education service center is a bargain. Creating the same material from scratch is very expensive and unnecessary.

Such curriculum adjustments are common. New Terrell Superintendent Kelly Rodgers hired an outside firm to do a curriculum audit to help realign that district’s instruction.

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