Equalizing Standards and Creativity

Equalizing Standards and Creativity:  How can we balance the two??

Today, the majority of our curriculum includes high-stakes standards and tests that are required by all students to follow.  With the focus geared on meeting the needs of high-stakes standards and tests, many students are not experiencing creative learning styles and environments.  Teachers are pressured to teach certain skills in order to achieve testing goals mandated by individual states. 

Research has been conducted to determine the effectiveness of high-stakes standards and creativity used in the classroom.  The research demonstrates that both concepts support student learning in different ways and offer variety to their education (Burke-Adams, 2007).   Gifted students often require unique learning needs that are not being met in the regular education setting. 

How can we insure that we are teaching these required standards while being creative at the same time?  Prescribed curriculum does not support teaching basic skills in a creative form.  What are we doing for our academically gifted students?  These students need opportunities where they can thrive in a creative manner. 

Teachers can still teach high-stakes standards while still teaching creatively.  Three components support this idea.  They are teacher behavior, learning environment and instructional strategies.  Teachers should provide opportunities that allow students to explore their own creativity while still focusing on the set skills in place.