Match the adjectives with the nouns they collocate with. Translate the collocations into Russian / Belarusian.

 

passing	curriculum
compulsory	score
flexible	performance
optional	subject
vocational	methods
academic	tests
divisive	training
innovative	issue
mixed	response

 

Speech activities

 

Answer the following questions.

1. What factors necessitated the introduction of a new curriculum in British schools?

2. What new topics will be introduced under the plan and what subjects will be left out or made optional and why?

3. Why did the curriculum revision receive a mixed response from the teachers?

4. What arguments for/against the “classroom revolution” in Great Britain could you give in addition to those listed in the article?

5. Do you think that educational standards in our country have declined in recent years?

6. What factors serve as disincentives to learning for some children in this country?

7. Is our educational system designed for the effective implementation of the principle “catch up and stretch”?

8. How in your opinion can optimal teaching and learning be promoted?

 

2. Comment on the following statements made by some British teachers in response to the modernized curriculum:

· primary schools teach children, secondary schools teach subjects;

· in (secondary) schools creativity is stifled for a concentration on facts;

· the curriculum should be made more relevant to the needs of young people in this world in the future;

· what failing schools need is more money and better teaching, not further restructuring.

 

3. In groups of 3 or 4 prepare and stage a debate on the following issues (you may wish to undertake further reading using the supplementary text “Education and Inclusion” or visiting the relevant Web sites):

· the traditional subject-based approach to covering the syllabus has delivered all it can, it will work no more;

· schools should be given the opportunity to be more innovative in what and how they teach;

· central monitoring of curricular issues and school performance has been exhausted and does not meet the challenges of the 21st century;

· learning should be differentiated according to the readiness of the individual to learn.

 

 

Reading THREE

 

High-Stakes Games

 

Across the country, students, teachers and education officials are playing a game of chicken with testing regimes. In an effort to raise standards, both federal legislation – as embodied in the No Child Left Behind Act – and many state testing systems threaten to penalize students who can’t pass basic tests, along with the schools charged with educating them. After years of preparation, the dates for implementing these high-stakes graduation exams are coming up. Officials have warned that students who fall short won’t receive diplomas or, in some cases, promotion to the next grade level. But if thousands of students fail or look as if they might, will authorities blink?

The answer appears to be “yes”. Last month California postponed implementation of its high-stakes exam for two years. California’s 1999 legislation required that 2004’s high school seniors pass an exam to graduate. Yet as of January about a third of 2004 seniors had not passed the mathematics portion of California’s test, and nearly 20 per cent hadn’t passed the language arts section. These are students who have supposedly been working to meet standards since they were in the eighth grade.

And California is not alone. Of the states that promised a new regime of accountability, only a handful are on track to meet targets. Many states have made their tests easier. Others have lowered the passing scores or delayed phasing them in as a graduation or promotion requirement. Some worry that this might happen in Maryland, where the State Board of Education has just set standards that more than a third of the students who took math and reading tests this year would have failed. By contrast, Virginia is gearing up to enforce results of its tests. Although some of the requirements have been changed − critics say "watered down" − since the launch of the program, the state should be commend­ed for holding fast to the principle of statewide testing.

For Virginia is also proof that high-stakes testing might yield results. Student scores on Virginia's Standards of Learning tests have been improving on a number of fronts since the tests have been administered, and the gap between minority students and others has been narrowing. The proportion of schools meeting state standards in Virginia has risen from 2 per cent to 70 per cent since 1999, revealing a marked improvement in the curriculum.

Testing is never an end in itself but a measure of other factors – the commitment of teachers and of school districts, the willingness of students to work harder. But while a test can be a tool to inspire and an indicator of progress, it works only as long as education authorities take it seriously.

The Washington Post. Friday, August 1, 2003.

 

Language focus

 

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