On covering less...

Snippets from Education.change.org:

Sadler and Tai have previously hinted at where this was going. In 2001 they reported that students who did not use a textbook in high school physics—an indication that their teachers disdained hitting every topic — achieved higher college grades than those who used a textbook.

...and from Jay Matthews at the Washington Post:

Based on a sample of 8,310 undergraduates, the national study says that students who spend at least a month on just one topic in a high school science course get better grades in a freshman college course in that subject than students whose high school courses were more balanced.

Interesting. The question is whether we want kids to do well on a standardized test or do well in college? Even if the answer were the former, with less standards, the questions on the test will change and maybe they will do well on both? I can say that as a Bio teacher, there is an incredible amount of standards for the subject and we only have one year. It is actually insane and a disservice to how we learn best. Unfortunately the decisions of the standards are left to those who are not actual stakeholders in education.