Historical Context of Work

The Eight-Year Study, also known as the Thirty-School Study, was an experimental project conducted between 1930 to 1942 by the Progressive Education Association (PEA). The study allowed thirty high schools to redesign their curriculum to better meet the needs of the students.  The schools were also challenged with creating innovative practices in student testing, program assessment, student guidance, curriculum design and staff development.

The Commission

The Commission on the Relation of School and College
of
The Progressive Education Association

MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION

Education and Influences

By the late 1920s the members of Progressive Education Association (PEA) acknowledged that only one out of six American high school students continued on to college; however, high schools still offered conventional college preparation programs. The PEA wanted to address the needs of non-college-bound students while also providing better coordination between high schools and colleges for those students who wish to go to college. In 1930 the PEA initiated the first of three Eight-Year Study commissions. The purpose of the commission was to improve relations between high schools and colleges that would allow high schools to experiment with changing their school curriculum to better serve the students. The Aikin Commission proceeded to select approximately thirty schools (including some school systems) that were free to revise their secondary curriculum. During this time , over 250 colleges agreed to suspend their admissions requirements for graduates of the participating high schools, and alternative forms of documentation were provided by the secondary schools for college admission.

Work Life

The commission was formed in 1930 to study alternative ways to best serve the school children in America. The group consisted of experience teachers and principals and new teachers. During this time students were following a very specific program designed by colleges and universities. The program centered on students taken certain required course designed to teach a very specific subject. During these meetings the group met they discussed several opportunities and concerns. The strongest concern and argument centered on the statement, "Yes, that should be done in our high schools, but it can't be done without risking students' chances of being admitted to college. If the student doesn't follow the pattern of subjects and units prescribed by the colleges, he probably will not be accepted."

The commission soon discovered that the state of our schools needs to improve. Some of the findings were:

Secondary education in the United States did not have clear-cut, definite, central purpose.

Schools failed to give students a sincere appreciation of their heritage as American citizens.

Our secondary schools did not prepare adequately for the responsibilities of community life

The high schools seldom challenged the student of first-rate ability to work up to the level of his intellectual powers. It was easy for student’s to just to take the courses and pass.

• Schools neither knew their students well nor guided them wisely.
• Schools failed to create conditions necessary for effective learning.
• The creative energies of students were seldom released and developed. Students were so busy "doing assignments," meeting demands imposed upon them, that they had little time for anything else.
• The traditional subjects of the curriculum had lost much of their vitality and significance.

• Most high school graduates were not competent in the use of the English language.

• The Commission found little evidence of unity in the work of the typical high school. Subjects and courses had been added until the program, especially of large schools, resembled a picture puzzle, without consistent plan or purpose.

Impact on Best Practices

The best practices  that can out of  the Eight-Year Study included developing more sophisticated student tests and forms of assessment, innovative student study techniques, curriculum design and programs for instruction, teacher education, and staff development. The Eight-Year Study proved that by there are many ways to teach the curriculum to ensure college success and that the high school need not be chained to a college preparatory curriculum. During this time students from experimental schools earned higher academic achievement rates than their traditional school counterparts. Schools today work to integrate content areas and focus on teaching the whole student. Students today have a more active room in the learning process. The Eight Year Study also changed our beliefs and focus on the types of assessments we give our student.

Problems or Failures

Anytime change is recommended it can be e difficult to establish and some schools and college resisted the change in the curriculum change movement.

Other Interesting Facts

One of America’s greatest educators Ralph Tyler served on the commission as head of the assessment staff.

Impact on Others

We have yet to feel the full impact of the Eight Year Study because schools and educators continue to work hard to improve curriculum and instruction.  The study did facilitate how schools design and deliver instruction. The curriculum that we deliver in our schools is more student interest centered instead of teacher or college centered. The Eight Year Study also allowed and showed how integrating subjects can be effective.