David, 


I will try to answer your questions from Florida's perspective. 

 

* "The business of standards:  Weeks after content standards were  

officially launched in our state, textbook publishers were busily  

developing correlations between their textbooks and our standards.     

Many publishers are already making dubious claims about how their  

text is "aligned" with our standards, yet, as far as I know, nobody  

has checked their work.  Have any other states experienced problems  

with publishers trying to cash in on adult education content  

standards?  Have any states attempted to work with publishers in any  

way in order to avoid false or inflated standards claims?"

 

Yes, almost all textbook publishers develop correlations between the
Florida standards and their texts.  At the state level, we encourage
local programs to evaluate the correlations to see how "close" or
"loose" these correlations are by comparing the text pages with the
benchmarks.  This is an important topic that we plan to address more
thoroughly in future professional development trainings for adult
education administrators.  The larger and more established textbook
publishers do not contact the state office to advertise their products.
When any company contacts our office to see if they can make a
presentation to FL DOE staff, they are not provided with the
opportunity.  My perception is that most program administrators and
teachers do not see publishing companies and their texts as a problem
that hinders them from teaching their students well, but a benefit
overall.  The largest programs in the state train teachers to look for
more than one text, in order to ensure sufficient coverage of all the
benchmarks.  My own review of texts in comparison to the standards has
shown that no company has made any false claims, and that most claims
are not so inflated as to cause alarm.

 

 

  * "Unintended Consequences:  A few our most experienced teachers  

that were beginning to work with standards got the feeling that in  

order to "comply" with standards education, they were going to have  

to teach from a textbook rather than developing their own creative  

activities.   While there was nothing in our professional development  

that pointed in this direction, this is the impression that many  

teachers had:  standards meant falling into line with some textbook  

or established curriculum.  Have any other state experienced this  

unintended effect of standards-based education? Are content standards  

in any limiting the creativity and initiative or our best teachers?"

 

As the state's ESOL specialist, I have not seen any direct consequences
of the use of standards limiting the creativity or initiative of
teachers to the point of greatly causing a negative impact.  I would
encourage any Florida teachers or program administrators to respond to
this question by giving their own point of view on this.  My perception
is that in Florida, virtually all programs and teachers use some type of
text in their classes for about 50% of the class time, most often as a
springboard for the lesson of the day or week.  The rest of the time,
they and their students design activities, do in-class and
community-based projects and create materials that reinforce the
lesson's objectives.  I can say this is the result of the state's
efforts to communicate with teachers about practices that are proving to
give positive results from around our state, the nation and the world.
I get the great opportunity to visit regional workshops put on by
teachers for other teachers from 10-12 programs in their area on what
they are doing in their classrooms.  Our urban and rural programs enjoy
getting together to spend a Saturday morning every 3-4 months to
collaborate and share.  While we are not at the goal, our teachers
report to us that we are on the way there.  

 

 

* How can we use content standards as we teach a diverse group of  

adult learners, keeping their motivation high and reaching their  

individual needs?

 

In professional development trainings, Florida emphasizes that the
standards are guides (very comprehensive and solid guides) for teachers
to use in teaching.  These very organic, living documents are so full of
good things for students and teachers, I venture to say that the
majority of our teachers, part-time and full-time, really appreciate
these guides to instruction.  The students also are reassured and
impressed that the state cares enough about them to try our best to make
sure that all their needs in learning are met.  Teachers are encouraged
to get to know their students, and to leave off or add to the benchmarks
in order to meet the needs of their students.  The standards in Florida
are not intended to be a rigid prescription that fills gaps, rather a
delectable grand buffet of savory items that will appeal to all
appetites as well as meet real needs.

 

* What will your state do to align standards to the NRS when it changes?

 

Florida has used task forces that focus on program areas, ESOL, ABE,
GED, Learning Disabilities, and Family Literacy.  It is in the process
of setting up groups of practitioners and administrators selected
through an application process to convene as ad hoc committees of 10-15
members to address critical functions in adult education: assessment,
standards, professional development, learning disabilities, etc. When
the NRS changes, the state office will convene meetings of the ad hoc
committees to do research and come up with recommendations to the state
on the issue.  The state has final responsibility for making the
decision.  The state often conducts pilots for a certain length of time
before it goes into full implementation of any redesigned standards or
process.

 

* What will your state do to align standards with diploma programs  

that have Carnegie units like those in  K-12 to earn a diploma in the  

adult education arena?

 

Florida does not use Carnegie units; we use credits based on
performance.  Florida offers a course called Adult High School, which is
aligned to have the same requirements as a standard high school diploma
with a few exceptions-no physical education, and the electives
requirements are slightly different.

 

* Does your state - does any state - have content standards for  

workforce education?

 

Florida has a "Curriculum Framework" called "Workplace Readiness Skills
for the Limited English Proficient Adult."  This curriculum framework
does not qualify as a set of standards, perhaps, because it is designed
to be a framework for local programs and employers to design a course
that meets the needs of adult ESOL students that face English
language/literacy/workplace challenges at their job.  The course is set
up so that the employees will learn specific skills they need in order
to do their job better and to advance in the workplace.  It can be seen
online at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/ad_frame.asp.

 

We welcome any comments, questions, as well as suggestions for making
our program better!  Thanks to everyone who has posted their thoughts!

 

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Philip Anderson

Adult ESOL Program Specialist

Division of Workforce Education

Florida Department of Education

325 W. Gaines Street, Room 644

Tallahassee, FL  32399

Tel (850) 245-9450

Fax (850) 245-0995
 

Please take a few minutes to provide feedback on the quality of service you received from our staff. The Department of Education values your feedback as a customer. Commissioner of Education Dr. Eric J. Smith is committed to continuously assessing and improving the level and quality of services provided to you.Simply use the link below.  Thank you in advance for completing the survey.
 

http://data.fldoe.org/cs/default.cfm?staff=Philip.Anderson@fldoe.org|10:46:16%20Thu%2019%20Jun%202008
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