Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 11, 1995                   TAG: 9510110072
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EDUCATORS WILLING TO TRY STATE'S LEARNING STANDARDS

"Some of us who have been involved in the process think they are doable, even though we don't have the curriculum and materials now," said David Wymer, social studies supervisor for Roanoke County schools.

Dan Fleming, a retired Virginia Tech professor, said the standards are so flawed that they should not be used to evaluate students and teachers.

But Wymer said Tuesday that social studies educators are willing to try the new standards, which are benchmarks of what students should learn at each grade level.

At its meeting last weekend, the Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists and College Educators considered a resolution that would have put the organization on record as rejecting the new standards.

Some consortium members agreed with Fleming that the standards put too much emphasis on ancient history, traditional content and memorization of facts. Too little attention is paid critical thinking, interpretation skills and contemporary global issues, they said.

"I think these [standards] are doomed to failure. They are not doable," Fleming said.

But Wymer, a member of the consortium's executive board, said the rejection resolution failed to pass.

"It was the general feeling that this was not the message that we wanted to send," Wymer said. "We want to work with the state Board of Education on the implementation and assessment of the standards."

The consortium appointed several committees to work with state education officials and the General Assembly on the standards and to make suggestions for strengthening them.

The consortium is composed of social studies supervisors and coordinators for school systems, college social studies teachers and other social studies specialists.

Del. James Dillard, R-Fairfax, told educators the legislature might consider changes in the standards during its session beginning in January.

In June, the Board of Education approved new standards of learning for social studies, math, science and English.

Drafting of the social studies standards triggered charges that the Allen administration tried to tailor them to fit a conservative political ideology.

The state is considering testing students in grades three, five, seven, nine and 11 in all subjects for which new standards have been adopted. The board is considering holding schools accountable for test results, but it has not agreed on the sanctions.