Essay on "Curriculum Analysis Academic Assessment"

Essay 5 pages (1742 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Curriculum Analysis

Academic assessment is a very old custom in education. Assessment typically involves measurement of student development for the reason of informing. One level of notifying is recognition or eligibility in decision-making; a second level is that of notifying instruction. Conventional evaluation instruments have confines which limit their request for instructional program preparation. Substitute evaluation procedures appearing in educational literature over the last several years have been Curriculum-Based Evaluations (CBE). While regular commercial achievement tests assess broad curriculum areas and/or skills, CBE measures exact skills that are currently being taught in the classroom, generally in basic skills. Several advances to CBE have been developed. Four universal characteristics exist across these models. These include:

The measurement actions review students directly utilizing the resources in which they are being taught. This entails sampling items from the curriculum.

2. Administration of each measure is usually brief in duration, typically 1 to 5 minutes.

3. The design is planned such that recurrent and frequent measurement is likely and measures are responsive to change.

4. Data are typically displayed graphically to permit monitoring of student performance (Hall & Mengel, 2002).

Mater Dei Catholic High School is located in San Diego, CA. Mater Dei Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic College Preparatory School devoted to faith arrangement and the quest of excellence. It has 690 students enrolled and 49 employed faculty members. The schools vision is to become the premier provider of Catholic education in the Diocese of San Diego and promote the education and faith of each student. With the foundation of an Academy of Science the school has chosen to specialize their curriculum in the science arena (Mater Dei Catholic High School, 2011).

Mater Dei Catholic High School's Academy of Science was founded to offer an excellent science learning experience in two ways. First, the Academy engages students in sensible and theoretical science by way of teamwork and partnerships with the scientific community. Second, the Academy challenges students with a meticulous academic program that supports all students to accomplish at the highest levels of excellence in preparation for college and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "Selected students from the class of 2011 were placed in an advanced math and science curriculum in their freshman year. These freshmen were introduced to field scientists and their work through partnerships and visits to the University of California San Diego's Physical Sciences Department, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, the Kyoto Prize lectures and the Scripps Research Institute. These partnerships will be continued and expanded in the years ahead to include future visits to their laboratories, providing mentors for our students from among the doctoral and post-doctoral scientists, and summer internship opportunities in the laboratories and research facilities they represent" (Mater Dei Catholic High School, 2011).

Mater Dei Catholic High School endeavors to model the person and teachings of Jesus Christ under the direction of the Bishop of San Diego and in accordance with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. They seek to emulate the accepting and nurturing way of Jesus Christ. They teach their students to have faith in the Lord, to demonstrate a loving respect for people, to help rather than judge, to be open to the thoughts and ideas of each person, and to serve the wider community. "Their point is to offer an effective college preparatory education for each of their students. In addition to excellence in the skills and abilities of the various arts and disciplines, they develop in their students a positive sense of self-worth, self-discipline, personal responsibility, commitment and a desire to lead and contribute in positive and significant ways to the peace and well-being of the larger global community" (Mater Dei Catholic High School, 2011).

Part 2: Recommendations

The education curriculum at Mater Dei Catholic High School appears to be well rounded in the basic core subjects. They concentrate a great deal in the area of science that is evident from their foundation of their Academy of Science. The traditional Catholic curriculum consists of an academic curriculum that offers rigorous math and science programs, Advanced Placement courses that create students prepared to do well on the AP exams, and reading programs that take both struggling and superior readers and move them forward (Catholic Education, n.d.).

The one area that Mater Dei Catholic High School appears to be lacking in is that of a rigorous math program. This school has chosen to devote their efforts into the area of science and not concentrated much on the area of math. This appears to go against the basic element of the Catholic Secondary Education statement of the Diocese of San Diego of providing quality educational programs which enhance a student's ability to learn, to solve problems and to make responsible decisions, while challenging students to use their individual aptitudes to attain their complete potential (Kuehey, Morrison & Geer, 2009). The school should be upholding this philosophy in all of their academic subjects and not just concentrating solely on one. If all subjects are given the same amount of attention then the students will be well rounded individuals that are capable of going out into the world and being successful contributors to society.

Another area that seems to be lacking in carrying out the dioceses philosophy is that of the theology instruction. The dioceses statement of education philosophy states that they will education students so that they will develop a system of morals and values that will enable them to respond to change and to live as responsible contributes to their communities and society. The basics of the theology curriculum at this school appear to meet this minimum standard. The education statement goes on to include presenting the spiritual, academic and social skills and understanding of religious and cultures enabling them to live lives of faith and service in their communities.

It does not appear that the school offers a lot of opportunity for students to incorporate their theological teachings into outside areas of their lives. The school needs to have more activities or programs that allow the students to incorporate their religious teachings into work in the community. This would help the school to align the curriculum with their philosophies. The idea is to give the students the best opportunity for them use what they are being taught to not only make themselves better people but to help their communities as well. This notion is supported by Dewey's philosophy of creating lessons that stem from students' interests. It is thought that the theology lessons may lead to interests that students can incorporate into their service to the community. Dewey also believed that children were born with the potential for good or evil and their educational environment would direct them to one or the other (Noddings, 2012). This philosophy is frequently incorporated in the Catholic educational system that requires morality instruction to direct students to good moral values.

Having this kind of program would also help this school to align its curriculum with the philosophy that secondary schools in the Diocese of San Diego provide a setting where students can develop intellectual, physical, and spiritual maturity. The Office for schools works closely with school leadership in order to provide professional support services to secondary schools that will allow them to carry out the educational mission of the diocese. These efforts are meant to complement the partnership with the parents and educate their children within the structure of the Catholic school.

The whole point of a Catholic education is to prepare students with the best background possible in core subjects as well as theology in order to allow them to go out into the world and be the most productive citizens that they can be. If this school were to better align their curriculum with the philosophies of the Diocese then they would have the best shot possible to produce the best citizens that they can. Alignment of the curriculum is the best thing that the school can do to aid the students and the entire community. After all the production of good citizens is what the Catholic education philosophy is all about. Overall the school appears to be doing a good job, so implementing these minor changes would be a good way to make a good thing even better.

Part 3: Conclusion

Mater Dei Catholic High School is overall a very good Catholic school that has a great program for students in science. They currently provide a good core curriculum that includes an advanced placement program as well as a science academy. There are two areas in which the school could alter in order to better bring their curriculum in line with the Diocese of San Diego's educational philosophy. These areas would be that of math and theology.

The school offers a good basic math and theology program but both could be enhanced to make them even better. A superior math program is a typical element of the catholic education curriculum. This school appears to put more emphasis on science… READ MORE

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