Lowered Standards

• Education reform sets different standards for subjects, often lower than teachers' expectations. State standardized testing, the most recent widespread reform, provides a statewide, universal exam that assesses student knowledge. Once educators know the subjects covered on these exams, they begin altering their normal educational focus to teach the materials covered by the test. As they teach to the test, more challenging subjects such as calculus, physics or advanced knowledge of trigonometry suffer from decreased attention in favor of a more specialized approach to the areas covered by the test. In some cases, classes even end a month before the test for students to study test preparation techniques, reports "Education Week."
  
  

Reject Reforms

• Education reform is viewed with hostility by experienced educators when they feel that the reforms target their teaching expertise or force them to lower their expectations of their students. As a result, many educators reject the reforms in favor of prior educational techniques. This creates a difference in the standard education between students who studied under different educators. Within the science and math fields, where foundational information forms the essential formative knowledge of the subject, students risk missing exposure to the new techniques or falling behind students under a different teacher.
  
  

Relearning Material

• Science and math reform requires a period of relearning for teachers. Conceptual changes, significant alterations in the way science and math are addressed and applied, requires extensive retraining of educators before they can begin educating their students -- often more extensive retraining than other subjects because of the specific nature of the subjects. Systemic changes, such as standardized testing, require a redirection of classroom time to cover and review information addressed within the standardized test.
  
  

College Expectations

• High school education reform allows college professors to set their own expectations of incoming students based on those reforms. Professors can expect students to have covered specific information while in high school and regular reforms allow for high schools to meet those increasing collegiate demands. Due to the specific conceptual nature of math and science, this is even more significant because high schools can address issues earlier in a student's education and form the foundation that better prepares him for college.