A Critical Analysis of the Modern Standards Movement: A Historical Portrayal Through Archival Review, Written Documents and Oral Testimony from 1983 to 1995

This is a historical study of the modern standards movement starting in 1983 with the landmark report, A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, and concluding in 1995 with the publication of the revised Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study was done through a review of available archival papers, written documents, and oral testimony. The purpose of this study was to analyze critically the modern standards movement as a context to the development and implementation of the revised Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Objectives of the study were to identify key events and key characters that impacted the standards movement and identify issues that evolved. A main focus of the study was to develop a documentary history that identified themes that linked events and showed connections between past and current events. Phase one of the process involved data collection from appropriate literary sources and writing the history as portrayed in written documents. Phase two of the process was done through the collection of oral testimony from key informers, especially in the Virginia movement and weaving that testimony logically and chronologically into the appropriate documentary history. Phase three of the process concluded with the identification of main themes that linked events and implications for future studies.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Pilling, Barbara O.

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Curcio, Joan L.
• Fortune, Jimmie C.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Alexander, M. David
• Parson, Stephen R.
• Salmon, Richard G.
• Canny, Marie C.

• Education Policy
• Modern Standards Movement
• Virginia Standards of Learning

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-041899-145816

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/26975