The Common School Movement: The Rise of State Support for Public Education (1820 - 1865)

3.1 Explain how the common school movement influenced education in our country today.

• During the common school movement...
• States and local governments directly taxed citizens to support public schools.
• States created state education departments and appointed state superintendents of instruction.
• Educators organized schools by grade level and standardized the curriculum.
• Separating schools into grade levels resulted in more age appropriate instruction and allowed material to be taught to older students in greater depth.
• States improved teacher preparation.
• Normal Schools: 2-year institutions developed to prepare prospective elementary teachers. These later became many of our current state colleges and universities.
• All of these changes are still seen in schools today.