A National Curriculum: To Be Uniform or Not?

A mind is a terrible thing to waste, the motto of the United Negro College Fund. Education is the key to success, a quote heard almost daily around the world. There is no doubt that education is the most important instrument that one can possess. Yet, the importance of education has always been present throughout history. Looking back at philosophers such as Aristotle, Dewey, and Piaget their main concern and passion has always been how to properly educate children. Also, the same is true for both state and federal government. State and federal governments have influenced education over the years with legislation such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, America 2000, No Child Left Behind, and the current Common Core State Standards. None of these attempts to improve education has been successful. However, could a uniform national curriculum standardize and improve education? Having a uniform national curriculum could be beneficial in many ways. A uniform national curriculum would help student evaluation, student flexibility, and student competitiveness because all children would be on a level playing field before entering college.

Implementing a uniform national curriculum can tremendously impact the way students are evaluated in schools. It is obvious that when different curriculums are present, the nation is responsible for coming up with a system to evaluate the knowledge of students from different schools. For example, if more than one school makes a major change in the curriculum, then the nation is responsible for adapting the system to reflect the changes made. This inflexible task can be avoided if there was a national curriculum in place. Also, this could cut down on the different types of assessments needed t...

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...could be problems with both teacher and student creativity, and the differentiated learning styles of students.

Ultimately, a uniform national curriculum is the key to successfully evaluating students. A lot less time and effort is needed to evaluate students with one curriculum versus multiple curriculum's nationwide. Also, flexibility for those students who change schools throughout their education is beneficial because it takes away the stress of having to adapt to a new curriculum and coursework, which is the last thing a student needs after relocating from their comfort zone. Lastly, enabling students to compete on a level playing field increases the odds of getting into the college of their choice. As a result, implementation of a national curriculum can only benefit students in the long run and allow them equal opportunity nationally and eventually globally.