The Core Knowledge Blog

Here we go again with curriculum narrowing. It’s happening…it’s not happening…it’s happening, but the problem is overstated. The edusphere erupts over whether a reported 16% of schools cutting art for more reading and math can be characterized as “many schools,” or whether narrowing under NCLB happens “often” or only sometimes. Still to come, whether “many,” “some,” “a handful” or “just a few” angels can dance on the head of a pin, or whether angels dancing on pins is a troublesome, but overstated trend.

The important point continues to go undiscussed: Given that a broad, content-rich education is the key to reading comprehension—hence raising test scores—narrowing the curriculum in any form is not just unacceptable but counterproductive and foolish. If you want to see test scores up, start arguing for curriculum reform. This is the common ground that ought to unite friends and foes of NCLB alike.

Everything else is angels dancing on the heads of pins.