DSST Foundations of Education flashcards
DSST Foundations of Education · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- A Nation at Risk
- 1983 federal report warning that U.S. schools were failing and threatening national economic competitiveness; it triggered standards, testing, and accountability reforms that persist today.
- No Child Left Behind
- 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requiring annual testing and Adequate Yearly Progress; schools missing targets faced escalating consequences. Replaced by ESSA in 2015.
- Every Student Succeeds Act
- 2015 law replacing No Child Left Behind; it returned accountability authority to states while requiring evidence-based interventions and continued annual testing in reading and math.
- Charter school
- Publicly funded, independently operated school freed from many district regulations; admission is typically by lottery, and authorization comes from a chartering body with renewal review.
- School voucher
- Public funds directed to families to pay private school tuition; supporters cite choice and competition, opponents cite public-fund diversion and reduced accountability for participating schools.
- Norm-referenced test
- Assessment that reports a student's performance relative to a comparison group, producing percentile ranks or stanines rather than a judgment against a fixed mastery standard.
- Criterion-referenced test
- Assessment scored against a defined performance standard or learning objective, indicating mastery independent of how other test-takers performed on the same instrument.
- Digital divide
- Gap in access to devices, reliable broadband, and effective use of technology; it affects homework completion, online learning, and digital literacy development.
- Blended learning
- Instructional model combining face-to-face classroom teaching with online components, giving students some control over time, place, path, or pace of learning.
- Common Core State Standards
- 2010 state-led standards in English language arts and mathematics emphasizing college and career readiness; adopted by many states and later contested or revised.
- Old Deluder Satan Act
- 1647 Massachusetts law requiring towns of fifty or more families to hire a teacher and larger towns to establish a grammar school, an early public schooling mandate.
- Latin grammar school
- Colonial secondary school modeled on English institutions, preparing elite boys in Latin, Greek, and classics for university entrance; Boston Latin, founded 1635, is the prototype.
- Franklin's academy
- Eighteenth-century secondary school design promoted by Benjamin Franklin that offered practical subjects such as mathematics, science, and modern languages alongside classical study.
- Common school movement
- Nineteenth-century reform led by Horace Mann and others establishing tax-supported, non-sectarian, publicly controlled elementary schools open to all children.
- Horace Mann
- Massachusetts reformer and first state secretary of education; championed common schools, teacher training through normal schools, and moral and civic instruction.
- Normal school
- Nineteenth-century institution for training elementary teachers, derived from the Prussian model; it evolved into state teachers colleges and later comprehensive universities.
- John Dewey
- Pragmatist philosopher of progressive education who argued that schooling should build on experience and prepare students for democratic participation through active inquiry.
- Perennialism
- Educational philosophy holding that enduring truths and great works should anchor curriculum; associated with Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler's Great Books approach.
- Essentialism
- Philosophy emphasizing transmission of core knowledge and skills through teacher-directed instruction, discipline, and high academic standards; William Bagley was an early proponent.
- Reconstructionism
- Philosophy viewing schools as instruments of social reform; George Counts asked whether schools should build a new social order.
- Brown v. Board of Education
- 1954 Supreme Court decision holding racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson and launching desegregation efforts.
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- 1896 Supreme Court ruling establishing the separate-but-equal doctrine that permitted racial segregation until Brown v. Board of Education overturned it in 1954.
- Tinker v. Des Moines
- 1969 Supreme Court decision protecting students' symbolic expression in public schools unless it substantially disrupts school operations or infringes others' rights.
- Engel v. Vitale
- 1962 Supreme Court ruling that state-composed school prayer violates the Establishment Clause, shaping subsequent law on religion in public schools.
- Lau v. Nichols
- 1974 Supreme Court decision holding that schools must provide meaningful language support to students with limited English proficiency, grounding bilingual and ESL programs.
- Plyler v. Doe
- 1982 Supreme Court ruling that states may not deny free public schooling to children based on immigration status, guaranteeing access regardless of documentation.
- Title IX
- 1972 federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education programs; it covers athletics, admissions, and harassment response in schools and colleges.
- Smith-Hughes Act
- 1917 federal law funding vocational education in agriculture and trades, marking the first major federal investment in secondary schooling.
- National Defense Education Act
- 1958 law passed after Sputnik; it funded science, mathematics, and foreign language instruction and expanded student loans for higher education.
- GI Bill
- 1944 Servicemen's Readjustment Act providing education benefits to veterans; it dramatically expanded college enrollment and reshaped American higher education.
- IDEA
- Federal special education law requiring free appropriate public education, individualized education programs, and least restrictive environment for students with disabilities.
- Equity versus equality
- Equality provides identical resources to all; equity allocates resources according to student need. The distinction underlies funding formulas and targeted intervention debates.