Curriculum Reform and School Performance: An Evaluation of the "New Basics"

The National Commission on Excellence in Education report proposed the imposition of a new high school curriculum, organized around "Five New Basics." We examine whether the commission's New Basics are likely to enhance levels of cognitive performance, which is the commission's central concern. Using data from the ETS Growth Study, we find that completion of the core curriculum has sizable effects on senior year test performance, even when prior levels of test performance are controlled, and enhances test performance beyond the effects of course work in a particular outcome area alone. However, core completion is effective only if students perform at relatively high levels in their courses. We conclude that the New Basics effectively promote generic verbal and quantitative skills. For this, the commission gets high marks. However, the commission fails to take stock comprehensively of the condition of American education.