Page 73 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

58 STANDARDS FOR K–12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION?

mathematics, science, social studies, and computer science—for high school graduation. To
state the obvious, neither technology nor engineering was among the core subjects.
In 1989, then President George H.W. Bush and a group of governors (including Bill
Clinton) met in Charlottesville, Virginia, for an Education Summit, the outcomes of which
included National Education Goals, which led directly led to initiatives for voluntary national
standards in each core subject. In the same year, 1989, the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics published Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM,
1989), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science published Science for All
Americans (AAAS, 1989). Both publications provided leadership for standards-based reform.
Still, as Paul DeHart Hurd argued, standards are fine, but they are not a reinvention (Hurd, 1999)
The basic idea of standards-based reform was to establish clear, coherent, and
challenging content as learning outcomes for K–12 education. The assumption was that
voluntary national standards would be used by state education departments and local
jurisdictions to select educational programs, instructional practices, and assessments that would
help students meet the standards. An additional assumption was that undergraduate teacher
education and professional development for classroom teachers would also be aligned with the
standards. The basic idea may sound reasonable, but in reality it did not work as envisioned. As
a result of the many independent decisions about teacher preparation, textbooks, tests, and
teaching, the proposed national standards had less influence than desired (NRC, 2002). This
said, the standards for science (NRC, 1996) have had a positive influence on the educational
system, especially on state standards and curriculum materials (DeBoer, 2006).

The Emergence of the Idea of K–12 Engineering Standards

Based on Science for All Americans (AAAS, 1989), in 1993 the AAAS published
Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy, and in 1996 the National Research Council published
National Science Education Standards. These three documents include recommendations and
standards related to engineering and technology. For example, Science for All Americans set the
stage for increased recognition of engineering education with discussions of “Engineering
Combines Scientific Inquiry and Practical Values” and “The Essence of Engineering Is Design
Under Constraint” (AAAS, 1989, pp. 40–41).
The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) published Standards for
Technological Literacy in 2000. An important point about these standards is that they paid
substantial attention to the idea of engineering design and underwent a thorough review and
subsequent revision by the National Research Council with input and criticism from the National
Academy of Engineering.
In the two decades since 1989, the idea of national standards for education has been
widely recognized as important, if not essential, and is increasingly being accepted by most
policy makers and educators.

Purposes of National Standards

Before turning to a specific discussion of K–12 engineering education standards, I
present my reflections and opinions based on more than a decade of experience with the National
Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). My work on these standards began in 1992 as a
member (and later chair) of the Content Working Group. In 1995, I became executive director of
the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education at the National Academies,

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