State Policy and the Control of Curriculum Decisions: Zones of Tolerance for Teachers in Elementary School Mathematics

In this paper an analytic framework is developed for the examination of state policies that are most likely to influence teachers' content decisions. This framework offers a way of assessing the potential strength of such policies in terms of their prescriptiveness, consistency, authority and power. The framework has been applied to policies relating to elementary school mathematics in seven states: California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina. These states were systematically selected from the population of 50 states; structured interviews were used to obtain as complete documentation on each state as possible. The distinctive characteristics of each state are described, with particular attention to whether the states attempt to exert control directly over teachers or indirectly through responsibilities placed on districts. Then the characteristics of the various types of policy are compared, including policies on instructional objectives and syllabi; student testing; student placement; textbooks; time allocation; and teacher qualifications. In conclusion, the study argues that these similarities and differences among state policies are likely to have important consequences for understanding the decisions that teachers make and the opportunities for students to learn. (Author)