Goals 2000

The National Educational Goals were set by the U.S. Congress in the 1990s to set goals for standards-based education reform. Many of these goals were based on the principles of outcomes-based education, and not all of the goals were attained by the year 2000 as intended. Many see this as the predecessor to the No Child Left Behind program, which mandated measurable improvement in student achievement across all groups. Goals 2000 established a framework in which to identify world-class academic standards, to measure student progress, and to provide the support that students may need to help meet the standards.

The goals stated in the Summary of Goals 2000 include:

"The Goals 2000: Educate America Act (P.L. 103-227)" was signed into law on March 31, 1994 by President Bill Clinton. The Act provides resources to states and communities to ensure that all students reach their full potential.

It is based on the premise of outcomes-based education that students will reach higher levels of achievement when more is expected of them. Congress appropriated $105 million for fiscal year 1994. States submitted applications to develop school improvement plans, and make subgrants to local schools, and awards for pre-service and professional development.

In 1996, President Clinton introduced a competitive grant entitled the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF). The president allocated 2 million dollars to ensure that every child in every school utilize technology to achieve high standards by the dawn of the 21st century. The president urged a variety of stakeholders from the private sector, schools, teachers, students, community groups, state and local governors and the federal government to work in a partnership toward achieving high levels of technology in schools.

In a 1996 letter to school Chief Operating Officers, President Clinton urged states and local school districts to work together in achieving the following four goals:

The overarching problem behind ensuring that every child in every school utilize an equal level of technology is the TLCF was a competitive grant. The issue with the competitive grant notion is that not all schools and therefore children could receive equal levels of technological assistance.

With the passage of Goals 2000, the first National Standards for Arts Education were created. There are content standards for dance, theater, music, and the visual arts. Every content standard is followed by several achievement standards describing how students are to demonstrate mastery of the content standards. The goals are not intended to be a curriculum. Instead, curriculum is to be developed locally on the basis of the goals. Standards are grouped in four divisions—creation and performance; cultural and historical context; perception and analysis; and the nature and value of the arts.

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