History of Education in the US
This 19th-century movement established the belief that all children deserved free public schooling and led to more consistent teacher training, though critics argued it imposed majority cultural values on immigrant and minority communities.
What is the Common School Movement?
This level of government has primary responsibility for setting curriculum standards, licensing teachers, and establishing graduation requirements.
What is the state government?
This instructional planning method begins by identifying the final learning goals and then works backward to design lessons, assessments, and activities.
What is the backward design method?
How a teacher promotes a safe, calm, and positive learning environment, helping students feel secure and ready to learn.
What is establishing and consistently enforcing classroom routines?
Educators demonstrate professionalism by working with families and colleagues to support students, often through simple habits like maintaining regular, positive communication about student progress.
What is collaboration?
This person, regarded as the 'father' of US public education, believed that schooling should be free, secular, accessible, and uniform for all children.
Who is Horace Mann?
This school-choice program allows families to use government funds to enroll their children in private schools rather than public ones.
What is the voucher system?
This teaching framework gradually shifts responsibility from teacher modeling to student independence through phases like “I do,” “We do,” and “You do.”
What is the gradual release method?
These three components—physical layout, behavioral, and medical/health preparedness—must be considered for what element of classroom environment?
What is safety?
Increasing communication between teachers and families has been shown to boost student engagement, on-task behavior, and preparation—ultimately supporting this important outcome.
What is improved student achievement?
This 2002 federal law, signed by President George W. Bush, required annual testing in reading and math, held schools accountable for student performance, and emphasized improving outcomes for groups such as English language learners, special education students, and students from low-income or minority backgrounds. States risked losing Title I funds if they chose not to comply.
What is the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)?
This level of government influences schools through funding, civil rights laws, and nationwide accountability initiatives.
What is the federal government?
Exit tickets, quick checks, and observations are examples of this ongoing type of assessment used to guide instructional adjustments.
What is formative assessment?
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy, students cannot reach higher-level learning until these foundational needs—like food, rest, and stability—are met.
What are physiological and safety needs?
Highly effective teachers engage in this ongoing process to refine their instructional skills, stay current with research, and improve outcomes for students.
What is professional development or continuous improvement?
This was the year the current U.S. Department of Education was officially established—long after early efforts in 1867 and 1913, and definitely not in 1776.
What is 1979?
This federal law provides additional funding to schools with high percentages of students from low-income families.
What is Title I?
This assessment type measures skills using numbers or data—such as test scores, rubrics, or statistics.
What is quantitative assessment?
These classroom strategies are established before misbehavior occurs—such as routines, expectations, and procedures—and are preferred over approaches used only after a problem appears.
What are proactive classroom management strategies?
Serving on committees, helping design school-wide initiatives, or mentoring new teachers are ways educators make an impact at this level of influence.
What is the school level?
This landmark act guaranteed students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
What is the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (or IDEA)?
This national organization, founded in 1857, advocates for teachers, supports public education policy, and is one of the largest professional organizations in the country.
What is the National Education Association (NEA)?
This type of assessment is given before instruction begins and is used to identify what students already know—and what they still need to learn—about a topic.
What is a diagnostic assessment?
The four aspects of a positive learning environment.
What are safety, relationships, engagement, and structure.
This type of collaboration between teachers helps align instruction, share strategies, and analyze student data to strengthen learning across a grade level or school.
What are professional learning communities (PLCs)?