American Federation of Teachers Essay

The continued drive to improve education and to support the legislation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy of the government has pushed the district of Georgia to create an effective framework of assessing and testing students of their proficiency in the different realms of education. By doing such, the district not only complies with the legislation and policies but at the same time ensures that the continued need of students in the facilitation of education is attained. Seeing the three documents notions of similarity can be seen. Looking closely these similarities have well in fact have to do with the standards set by the district of Georgia with the regards to proficiency standards. Also, there is a similarity in the objective and rationale that an improvement of such standards is necessary to achieve the optimum educational needs of students in the classroom. Lastly, there seems to be emphasis and importance on creating appropriate methods within the classroom scenario. This means both teachers and students are expected something to contribute for the overall facilitation of classrooms. On the other hand, the two documents have their own differences. One important difference that can be seen in the article are their relative scopes One article focuses on the general framework and ideas in Georgia concerning the improvement of standards that will enhance student education. On the other hand, the other article showcases an analysis of deeper sets of standards. This means that each point and objective is elaborated more clearly and brought down to per level category. This categorization helps readers understand the complexity and depth of such initiative. With this understanding, proper critiquing and arguments can arise which later can contribute to a better development of initiatives that can foster and administer change for students and teachers within the classroom. Creating standards are an integral part in the overall facilitation of learning within the classroom setup. This is because it enhances the level of knowledge imparted to students and at the same time. â€Å"Introducing standards in the classroom will augment the learning experience by pointing students to available design and marketing tools, and best industry practices. † (Schultz, 2005) Furthermore, the creation of standards enforces the actualization and realization of information of students within the classrooms. â€Å"By establishing standards for teacher competence in student assessment, the associations subscribe to the view that student assessment is an essential part of teaching and that good teaching cannot exist without good student assessment. † (American Federation of Teachers, 1990) By integrating these standards, it can create an integral part in the overall process of learning and facilitation of education. Enhancing student learning requires a thorough understanding of issues revolving around a particular topic. By doing so, it gives the teachers the necessary information that they need to sustain and develop methods adequate for students needs. First these documents serve as (1) an added tool for application. Seeing the development of literature gives options for teachers to apply proper schemes in classrooms. Second, it sketches approaches in the field of educational development of students. â€Å"Students cannot achieve high levels of performance without access to skilled professional teachers, adequate classroom time, a rich array of learning materials, accommodating work spaces, and the resources of the communities surrounding their schools. † (NSES, p. 1) Lastly, these documents promote equality in the classrooms in terms of addressing the needs of each actor. By realizing the importance of student and teacher’s needs, objectives can be calibrated to better suit the classroom. In the end, literature has shown that by creating standards, issues in education and student needs can be addressed. Properly applying these standards within the classroom needs to be done in order for students to avail of the proper amount of education they need to sustain their holistic development and endeavors. References American Federation of Teachers. (1990) Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students. Retrieved April 24, 2008 from http://www. unl. edu/buros/bimm/html/article3. html National Science of Education Standards. National Science Education Standards: An Overview. Retrieved April 24, 2008 from http://www. nap. edu/readingroom/books/nses/overview. html Schultz, D. (2005) Standards in the Classroom in ASTM International. Retrieved April 24, 2008 from http://www. astm. org/SNEWS/JULY_2005/schultz_jul05. html