NOTICES
Notice of Comments Issued
[32 Pa.B. 2286] Section 5(d) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(d)) provides that the designated standing Committees may issue comments within 20 days of the close of the public comment period, and the Commission may issue comments within 10 days of the close of the Committees' comment period. The Commission's comments are based upon the criteria contained in sections 5.1(h) and (i) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)).
The Commission issued comments on the following proposed regulations. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted by the date indicated.
Final-Form
Submission
Reg. No. Agency/Title Issued Deadline #6-275 State Board of Education
Academic Standards and
Assessment for Civics and
Government; Economics;
Geography and History4/18/02 3/18/04
(32 Pa.B. 905 (February 16, 2002)) #6-276 State Board of Education
Academic Standards and
Assessment for Arts and
Humanities; Health,
Safety and Physical Edu-
cation; and Family and
Consumer Sciences4/18/02 3/18/04
(32 Pa.B. 882 (February 16, 2002))
____
State Board of Education Regulation No. 6-275
Academic Standards and Assessment for Civics and Government; Economics; Geography and History
April 18, 2002 We submit for consideration the following objections and recommendations regarding this regulation. Each objection or recommendation includes a reference to the criteria in the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)) which have not been met. The State Board of Education (Board) must respond to these Comments when it submits the final-form regulation. If the final-form regulation is not delivered by March 18, 2004, the regulation will be deemed withdrawn.
General
1. Structure and content of the Standards.--Reasonableness.
Commentators have stated that the content of the four standards is too detailed and cannot be covered in the time allotted for social studies. An alternative to the current structure would be one standard organized around themes that demonstrate the interrelationships between the four separate standards. In the final-form regulation, the Board could consider a more streamlined approach to the four standards.
2. Introductions.--Clarity.
The introduction to the History standards includes a concise explanation of the general format of the standard. It states that the standards are broken down into categories, statements, bulleted items (descriptors) and examples. For clarity and consistency, similar language should be included in the introductions to the Civics and Government, Economics and Geography standards.
3. Table of Contents.--Clarity.
We have identified two inconsistencies between the Table of Contents and the format of the four standards.
First, the format of the Tables of Contents for the four standards is not consistent with the Tables of Contents of the existing academic standards for Science and Technology and Environment and Ecology. The Tables of Contents for the existing standards list categories and identify statements under those categories with corresponding capital letters. In the final-form regulation, the format of the Tables of Contents for these new standards should match the format of the existing standards.
Second, the standards listed in the Tables of Contents do not match the standards contained in the text. For example:
* Under the Civics and Government standards § 5.1, the Table of Contents lists three standards, but the text of § 5.1 contains 13 standards.
* Conversely, under the Geography standards in § 7.1, the Table of Contents lists three standards, but the text of § 7.1 only contains two standards.
In the final-form regulation, the Board should ensure that the content of each of the standards is accurately reflected in the Tables of Contents.
Civics and Government
4. Section 5.2. Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship.--Clarity.
In Standard 5.2.9.E, the word ''the'' should be inserted before the word ''political.''
5. Section 5.3. How Government Works.--Clarity.
Standard 5.3.9.D lists the ''Pennsylvania Utilities Commission'' as an example of an independent State agency. The correct name of this agency is the ''Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission.''
6. XV. Glossary.--Clarity.
We have identified the following issues related to the terminology used in the Glossary and the text of standards:
* The following words and phrases are included in the Glossary, but are not used in the text of the Civics and Government standards: ''Civil law,'' ''Civil liberties,'' ''Common law,'' ''Compromise,'' ''Concurrent powers,'' ''Confederation,'' ''Consent of the governed,'' ''Constitutionalism,'' ''Delegated powers,'' ''Diplomat,'' ''Judicial power'' and ''Political efficacy.'' If the terms are not used within the text of the standards, then the Board should delete these terms from the Glossary.
* We have identified 34 words and phrases used in the text of the Civics and Government standards, but not included in the Glossary. See Appendix A. A commentator on these standards notes that many of the teachers may not have any experience with political science and are unfamiliar with much of the terminology. Therefore, we suggest that the final-form regulation define these words and phrases in the Glossary.
Economics
7. XVIII. Glossary.--Clarity
We have identified 37 technical words and phrases used in the text of the Economics standards, which are not included in the Glossary. See Appendix B. For clarity, the final-form regulation should define these words and phrases in the Glossary.
Geography
8. Section 7.1. Basic Geographic Literacy.--Clarity.
Standard 7.1.3.B uses ''i.e.'' in some of the descriptors as opposed to ''e.g.'' which is used throughout the standards. The appropriate abbreviation is ''e.g.'' and this standard should be changed to reflect the appropriate abbreviation.
9. Section 7.2. The Physical Characteristics of Places and Regions.--Clarity.
Standard 7.2.3.A requires students to identify ''Earth's basic physical systems'' including ''Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, Biosphere.'' In its comments, the House Education Committee Staff questioned the appropriateness of these terms for students up to third grade. We agree and suggest that these terms would be more appropriate under Standard 7.2.6.A.
10. Section 7.3. The Human Characteristics of Places and Regions.--Clarity.
Standard 7.3.12.C requires students to ''Use models of the internal structure of cities (e.g., concentric zone model, sector theory, multiple nuclei theory).'' The example should refer to ''sector'' and ''multiple nuclei'' models as opposed to theories. Further, the definition of the term ''Sector model'' in Section XXI, Glossary, should reflect the use of the term in the standards.
11. Section 7.4. The Interactions Between People and Places.--Clarity.
Standards 7.4.6.A and 7.4.9.A refer to ''hazard-prone areas.'' However, Section XXI, Glossary defines the term ''natural hazard.'' The defined term should be used in the standards.
12. XXI. Glossary.--Clarity.
We have identified the following issues related to the terminology used in the Glossary and the text of standards:
* The following terms are defined in the Glossary, but not used in the text of the standards: ''Choropleth map,'' ''Climatic processes,'' ''Contour map,'' ''Demography,'' ''Cultural hearths,'' ''Equinox,'' ''Industrialization,'' ''Land degradation,'' ''Map projection,'' ''Regionalization'' and ''Urbanization.'' If the terms are not used within the text of the standards, then the Board should delete these terms from the Glossary.
* The following technical terms are used in the text of the standards but not defined in the Glossary: ''biomes,'' ''tertiary,'' ''legend'' (that is, relating to a map), ''NAFTA,'' ''NATO'' and ''OAS.'' Defining these terms would add clarity.
* The following common terms are defined in the Glossary: ''Distribution,'' ''Population size'' and ''Satellite image.'' We question whether it is necessary to define these terms.
* The definition of the term ''Absolute location'' states ''The position of a point on Earth's surface that can usually be described by latitude and longitude but also including nine digit zip code and street address.'' We question whether the phrase ''but also including nine digit zip code and street address'' is relevant to this definition.
* The term ''Intervening opportunities'' should be changed to ''Intervening opportunity'' to be consistent with the tense of the term used within the standards.
History
13. XXIII. Introduction.--Clarity.
The Introduction preceding the History standards contains the following sentence: ''Although different grade levels outline different chronological periods within the standards, it is intended, as any good teacher would do, that the specified chronological eras be linked to past learnings and that all eras be linked to the present.'' Since the phrase ''as any good teacher would do'' is subjective, it should be removed from the final-form version of this rulemaking.
14. Section 8.3. United States History.--Clarity.
In Standard 8.3.3.A, there is a listing of ''Individuals who are role models.'' The examples listed include ''. . . Tiger Woods, Cal Ripken, Jr., Sammy Sosa.'' Why did the Board choose so many sports figures as examples of ''role models'' for United States history?
15. XXIV. Glossary.--Clarity.
We have identified the following issues related to the terminology used in the Glossary and the text of the standards:
* The following terms are defined in the Glossary, but not used in the text of the standards: ''Archive,'' ''Legends,'' ''Monument'' and ''Timelines.'' If the terms are not used within the text of the standards, then the Board should delete these terms from the Glossary.
* The term ''Memorial'' is defined as ''An object or ceremony serving as remembrance for a person, group, day, site or event.'' Because the meaning of this term is commonly understood, we question whether it is necessary for this term to be defined.
* ''AME Church'' is listed as an example of a social organization. A definition of ''AME Church'' should be included in the Glossary.
Appendix A Terms to be defined in the Glossary for Civics and Government Standards
Constitutional Government
Political Leadership
Framers of documents
Civic Life
Constitutional Democracy
Double Jeopardy
Preamble
Executive Branch
Political Unit
Civil Disobedience
Legislative Branch
United Nations
Direct Democracy
Judicial Branch
World Court
Representative Democracy
Bill
International Red Cross
Limited Government
Regulation
Amnesty International
Unlimited Government
Primary Election
World Council of Churches
Personal Rights
General Election
Equal Protection
Political Rights
Caucuses
Right to Counsel
Economic Rights
Electoral College
Civic Responsibilities
Personal Responsibilities
Appendix B Terms to be defined in the Glossary for Economics Standards
Output
Cartels
Inter-regional trade
Expansion
Limited resources scarcity
International trade
Contraction
Regional economy
Trade barrier
Recession
National economy
Renewable resources
Depression
International economy
Non-renewable resources
Market transaction
Limited resources
Flow resources
Non-competitive market
Unlimited wants
Labor market
Tariff
Capital resources
Stock
Quota
Allocation of resources
Bond
Exchange rate
Economic decision
Mutual fund
Trade balance Decision making (in the context of marginal analysis)
Retirement savings
Price control
Import
Export
Monopoly
____
State Board of Education Regulation No. 6-276
Academic Standards and Assessment for Arts and Humanities; Health, Safety and Physical Education; and Family and Consumer Sciences
April 18, 2002 We submit for consideration the following objections and recommendations regarding this regulation. Each objection or recommendation includes a reference to the criteria in the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)) which have not been met. The State Board of Education (Board) must respond to these Comments when it submits the final-form regulation. If the final-form regulation is not delivered by March 18, 2004, the regulation will be deemed withdrawn.
Arts and Humanities
1. XXV. Table of Contents.--Clarity.
We have identified the following inconsistencies between the Table of Contents and the format of the standards:
* Under § 9.1, the Table of Contents lists standards A through H, but the text of § 9.1. contains standards A through K.
* Under § 9.2, the Table of Contents lists standards A through E, but the text of § 9.2 contains standards A through L.
* Under § 9.3, the Table of Contents lists standards A through E, but the text of § 9.3 contains standards A through G.
In the final-form regulation, the lettering in the Table of Contents should match the lettering in the text of the standards. Additionally, the Board should ensure that the identifying title associated with each letter in the Table of Contents reflects the content of the corresponding standards in the body of the regulation.
2. Section 9.1. Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts.--Clarity.
Standard 9.1 lists the elements and principles of art forms that are included in the proposed standards. In its comments, the House Education Committee Staff (Committee Staff) suggests adding ''style'' in the list of principles related to music. We agree, given that ''style'' is included as a principle for dance and theatre.
Standards 9.1.3.H, 9.1.5.H, 9.1.8.H and 9.1.12.H refer to ''issues of cleanliness related to the arts.'' The phrase ''issues of cleanliness'' is vague. Based upon discussion with the Board staff, it is our understanding that these standards refer to proper use and clean-up of artistic materials. Clarity would be improved if these descriptors were rephrased to specifically identify the activities encompassed by these standards.
Standards 9.1.3.J and 9.1.3.K require students to ''know and use traditional and contemporary technologies.'' Standards 9.1.5.J and 9.1.5.K require students to ''apply traditional and contemporary technologies.'' The difference between these standards is unclear. The phrase ''know and use'' and the term ''apply'' could be interpreted as synonymous. Examples of the types of skills required in each of these standards would help clarify the Board's intent.
3. Section 9.3. Critical Response.--Reasonableness.
Standards 9.3.3.A and 9.3.3.E require third graders to ''recognize critical processes used in the examination of works in the arts and humanities'' and ''recognize and identify types of critical analyses in the arts and humanities.'' In its comments, Committee Staff notes that these standards are higher-level processes and would be difficult for kindergarten through third grade students to achieve. Committee Staff states that these requirements are inappropriate. We agree and suggest that the Board reexamine inclusion of these standards at the third grade level.
4. Section 9.4. Aesthetic Response.--Clarity.
Standard 9.4.5.B requires fifth grade students to ''investigate and communicate multiple philosophical views about works in the arts.'' Committee Staff has suggested, and we agree, that this standard is confusing and should be reworded to clarify its intent.
5. XXVII. Glossary.--Clarity.
We have identified the following issues related to the terminology used in the Glossary and the text of the standards:
* The following terms are defined in the Glossary but are not used in the text of the standards: ''arts criticism,'' ''arts integration,'' ''arts resources,'' ''assess,'' ''formal production,'' ''repertoire'' and ''synthesis.'' If these terms are not included in the text of the standards, they should be deleted from the Glossary.
* The terms ''aesthetic response'' and ''assessment'' are used in the regulation, but not defined in the Glossary. Defining these terms would add clarity.
Health, Safety and Physical Education
6. Section 10.1. Concepts of Health.--Reasonableness; Protection of the Public Health; Clarity.
In its comments, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference notes that education on sexually transmitted diseases is included in the sixth grade standards (Standard 10.1.6.E), but abstinence is not addressed until ninth grade (Standard 10.1.9.A). We agree that this apparent inconsistency is confusing.
Standard 10.1.6.E requires students to ''identify and describe health problems that can occur throughout life.'' It would appear that classroom discussion of any disease would logically include dialogue on how a disease is contracted and how it can be prevented. The Board should consider including disease prevention in both the sixth and ninth grade standards.
7. Section 10.2. Healthful Living.--Clarity.
Standard 10.2.3.A refers to ''community helpers.'' Clarity would be improved by defining this term in XXX. Glossary.
8. Section 10.3. Safety and Injury Prevention.--Reasonableness; Protection of the Public Health, Safety and Welfare.
The Pennsylvania Association for Safety Education commented that the proposed standards should be expanded to include driver education. It is reasonable to assume that most students will drive during their lifetime. Given the statistical significance of teenage motor vehicle accidents and fatalities, the Board should include a standard for classroom instruction of driver safety education.
9. Section 10.5. Concepts, Principles and Strategies of Movement.--Reasonableness.
Standards 10.5.3.B and 10.5.6.B address ''the concepts of motor skill development.'' In its comments, Committee Staff notes that these standards are highly analytical and would be difficult for third and sixth grade students to achieve. Committee Staff has suggested that the Board add clarifying language or delete these standards. We agree and suggest that the Board reexamine inclusion of these standards at the third and sixth grade level.
Standard 10.5.3.E. requires students to ''know and describe scientific principles that affect movement. . . .'' This standard lists gravity as an example of a scientific principle. We question whether this standard is too advanced for the third grade level. In the Board's existing science standards, the concept of gravity is not addressed until seventh grade in Standard 3.4.7.D. The Board should reconsider inclusion of this standard at the third grade level.
Standard 10.5.6.E requires students to ''identify and use scientific principles that affect basic movement. . . .'' This standard lists Newton's Laws of Motion as one of the scientific principles. Similar to our concern relating to the comparable third grade standard, we question whether this standard is too advanced for the sixth grade level. Newton's Laws are not addressed until the tenth grade in Standard 3.4.10.C in the Board's existing science standards. The Board should reconsider inclusion of this standard at the sixth grade level.
10. XXX. Glossary.--Clarity.
We have identified the following issues related to the terminology used in the Glossary and the text of the standards:
* The term ''biomechanics'' is defined, but the term used in Standard 10.5.12.E is ''biomechanical principles.'' The term defined in the Glossary should match the term used in the text of the standards.
* The terms ''cardiorespiratory fitness'' and ''multi-media'' are used in the standards, but are not defined in the Glossary. Defining these terms would improve clarity.
* The term ''refusal strategies'' is defined in the Glossary, but the term used in Standard 10.3.3.C is ''refusal skills.'' The term defined in the Glossary should match the term used in the text of the standards.
Family and Consumer Sciences
11. Section 11.1. Financial and Resource Management.--Reasonableness.
The Independent Insurance Agents of Pennsylvania, Inc. commented that the proposed standards should be amended to include a basic understanding of insurance concepts. We agree that every student will eventually be faced with purchasing an insurance policy of some type, such as car insurance, health insurance, or renter's or homeowner's insurance. Therefore, it would be reasonable to include basic insurance concepts in the standards.
12. Section 11.4. Child Development.--Clarity.
Standard 11.4.3.A lists the stages of child development as: infancy; early childhood; middle childhood; late childhood; and adolescence. However, the definition of ''child development stage'' lists the stages as: infancy; toddler; preschool; school age; and adolescent. The discrepancy between Standard 11.4.3.A and the definition of ''child development stage'' should be resolved in the final-form regulation.
Standard 11.4.5.A contains a typographical error. The word ''developmental'' should be changed to ''development.''
13. XXXIII. Glossary.--Clarity.
We have identified the following issues related to the terminology used in the Glossary and the text of the standards:
* The phrase ''child-care provider considerations'' is defined in the Glossary, but the phrase used in Standard 11.4.6.D is ''considerations prior to selecting childcare providers.'' The phrase defined in the Glossary should match the phrase used in the text of the standards.
* The phrase ''child development stage'' is defined in the Glossary, but the phrase used in Standard 11.4.3.A is ''stage of child development.'' The phrase defined in the Glossary should match the phrase used in the text of the standards. Additionally, clarity would be improved if the age ranges that correspond to the stages of development were defined.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-816. Filed for public inspection May 3, 2002, 9:00 a.m.]
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