Timeline of US Education

A Chronology of

Pioneers, Events and Philosophers

Timeline of US Education

By Melissa BoutinGranite State

CollegeJune 2010

1635First Latin Grammar School (Boston Latin School) in established

1636Harvard College established

1690• John Locke publishes “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (his belief that the human mind is a tabula rasa)•New England Primer became most widely used schoolbook in New England

1693College of William and Mary established in Virginia

1698First publicly supported library established in Charles Town, SC

John Locke

1734Benjamin Franklin forms American Philosophical Society bringing ideas from European Enlightenment to US

1751 Ben Franklin established first English Academy in Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania)

1779Thomas Jefferson proposes a two-track educational system with one for the laboring and one for the learned.

1783-1785Noah Webster writes “A Grammatical Institute of the English Language” consisting of a spelling book, a grammar book and a reader.

1787First academy for girls (Young Ladies Academy)open in Philadelphia

Noah Webster

1790Pennsylvania state constitution calls for free public education but only for poor children. It is expected that rich people will pay for their children's schooling.

1791Bill of Rights passes making education a function of the state rather than the federal government

1801James Pillans invents the blackboard

1802 Johan Pestalozzi publishes “How Gertrude Teaches Her Children” (concerning the psychology of elementary education).

1805New York Public School Society formed by wealthy businessmen to provide education for poor children. Schools run on "Lancasterian" model: master gives rote lesson to older students, who pass it down to younger students.

Johann Pestalozzi

1817The first permanent school for the deaf open in CT (Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons)

1821First public high school opens (Boston English High School)

1829The first school for children with visual disabilities opens in MA (New England Asylum for the Blind)

1837First college for women founded (Mount Holyoke Female Seminary)

1839•First state funded school for teacher education (“Normal School”) opens in Lexington, MA•First educational psychology course offered in America: “Mental Philosophy” also in Lexington MA

Mount Holyoke

1848•Hervey Wilbur establishes first school of its kind in Ma (Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feebleminded Youth•The Perkins Institute, founded by Samuel Gridley Howe was first residential institution for mentally retarded people •Massachusetts Reform School at Westboro opens, which combines the education and juvenile justice systems.

1864Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind authorized to grant college degrees (first college for people with disabilities in the world) 1851 Massachusetts passes first compulsory education law to make sure that children of poor immigrants get "civilized" and learn obedience and restraint, so they make good workers

1852•Massachusetts enacts the first mandatory attendance law (all states by 1918)•The town gave education pioneer Horace Mann 20 acres and $20,000 as an inducement to establish the nation's first "alternative" college (Antioch College).

Horace Mann

1854First free library opens (Boston Public Library)

1867•Department of Education originally created•George Peabody funds Peabody Education Fund to aid public education in south•Howard University established in DC for African Americans, partially funded by Freedmen’s Bureau

1873 First public school kindergarten in the U.S. founded in St. Louis, MO.

1874Michigan State Supreme Court rules that taxes may be levied to support public schools

1876Edouard Sequin becomes first President of Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feebleminded Persons (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities)

1879First Indian boarding school (Carlisle Indian Industrial School) opens in Pennsylvania and becomes model for assimilating Indian children into mainstream culture

1881Booker T. Washington becomes first principal of normal school in Tuskegee Alabama (Tuskegee University)

1886 First textbook on educational psychology published by Louisa Hopkins

1896The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that Louisiana has right to require "separate but equal" railroad cars for Blacks & whites. Federal government officially recognizes segregation as legal resulting in southern states pass laws requiring racial segregation in public schools.

Booker T Washington

1897 First empirical study on school learning published by J. Rice on relationshipbetween time on task and learning

1905 Alfred Binet’s article “New Methods for the Diagnosis of the IntellectualLevel of Subnormals” published in France. •Binet-Simon Scale (IQ test) published in Europe.•Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching is founded

1908 E.B. Huey publishes The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading.

1910 The first issues of the Journal of Educational Psychology is published.

Alfred Binet

1911First Montessori school opens in Tarrytown, NY

1912 Achievement tests are first used on a large scale in New York City.

1913Edward Lee Thorndike publishes “Educational Psychology: The Psychology of Learning”

1916 •Lewis Terman translates the Binet IQ test, publishing it as the Stanford-Binet IQ Test.•The American Federation of Teachers is founded•John Dewey publishes “Democracy and Education. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education” advancing progressive education movement

1917-18 First large scale IQ testing of American adults (army conscripts in WWI).

John Dewey

1919Progressive Education Association founded to reform American education

1920’s-30’s William S. Gray and colleagues at the University of Chicago publish numerous studies on reading behavior and achievement

1922Council for Exception Children (CEC) formed to inform parents, teachers, and administration about education of individuals with disabilities

1925Tennessee vs. John Scopes: trial in which teacher is charged with teaching evolution and is convicted, upholding the Butler Actmaking it illegal to teach evolution

1926Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is first administered

1929Jean Piaget’s “The Child Conception of the World” published detailing his theory of cognitive development

1931Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District first successful school desegregation case

1942The General Equivalency Diploma (GED) program and the Military Evaluations Programs for veterens who left school to serve in World War II are established.

1947 Educational Testing Service (ETS) is founded.

1953BF Skinner’s “Science and Human Behavior” published (operant conditioning) influencing American education

1954US Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruled separate is not equal

Jean Paiget

B. F. Skinner

1957Federal troops enforce integration in Little Rock as Little Rock 9 enroll at Central High School

1956 Benjamin Bloom’s “Taxonomy of Educational Objectives” is published.

1959The ACT Test is first administered

1960’sInclusion comes onto the scene, trying to meet the needs of learners who had been excluded from school or marginalized in classrooms 1962Lev Vygotsky’s book “Thought and Language” introduced to English-speaking world, considered foundation of social constructivist theory (Zone of Proximal Development)

Benjamin Bloom

Lev Vygotsky

1963 •Campbell & Stanley publish “The Design of Experiments”.•John Flavell publishes “The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget”. Piaget’s work receives widespread attention among American educators•US Supreme Court says no state law or school board may require prayer be recited in public schools•Samuel Kirk coins the term “Learning Disability”

1965Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) passed providing federal funds to help low income students (leads to Title 1) •Higher Education Act singed into law providing federal aid to higher education and provides for scholarships, student loans and establishes National Teachers Corps•Project Head Start begins

1966Jerome Bruner’s “Toward a Theory of Instruction” is published offering cognitive learning theory as alternative to behaviorism

Jerome Bruner

1968 •David Ausubel publishes textbook, “Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View” confirming the influence of cognitive perspectives within the field.• Bilingual Education Act provides federal funding for local school districts to establish educational programs for students with limited English speaking ability•US Supreme Court rules that prohibiting teaching of evolution in public school or university is unconstitutional•McCarver Elementary School in Tacoma Washington becomes first magnet school•Navajo Community College Act created first tribally controlled college

1969Herbert R. Kohl’s book “The Open Classroom” helps promote open education (student-centered classrooms)

1970 •First meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Minneapolis. MN•Jean Piaget’s book “The Science of Education” published

Herbert Kohl

1972•Title IX is passed prohibiting discrimination under any education program receiving federal financial assistance•Mills v. Board of Education ruled that disabled children could not be excluded from public schools1973•The Rehabilitation Act becomes law guaranteeing civil rights for people with disabilities . Sections 501, 502, 503 1nd 504 prohibited discrimination in federal programs and services and other programs receiving federal funds.

1975•Congress passes Education for All Handicapped Children Act requiring all public schools accepting Federal funds to provide equal access to education for children with physical and mental disabilities•Requires “free appropriate public education” in least restrictive setting

1975Newsweek article “Why Johnny Can’t Write” brings literacy to the forefront

1977 Apple computers are introduced into schools

1979US Department of Education is made a Cabinet level agency

1981John Holt’s book “Teach Your Own: A Hopeful Path for Education” adds momentum to homeschooling movement

John Holt

1982•US Supreme Court invalidates “Creationism Act” requiring teaching of creationalism whenever evolution is taught because it violates the First Amendment•Madeline C. Hunter’s book “Mastery Teaching” is published, introducing direct instruction teaching model•US Supreme Court rules in Board of Education v. Pico that schools cannot remove books from library based on offensive content

1983•National Commission on Excellence in Education publishes “A Nation at Risk” calling for sweeping reform in public education and teacher training•Howard Gardner publishes “Frames of Mind” identifying seven intelligences leading to greater understanding of how students learn

1984The Emergency Immigration Education Act enacted providing services and offsetting the cost for school districts that have large numbers of immigrant students Howard

Gardner

1984 First issue of “Cognition and Instruction” is published.

1989 First issue of “Educational Psychology Review” is published.

199o•Tim Berners-Lee is credited with the invention of the Internet, allowing two computers to communicate•Individuals with Disabilities Education Act replaces Education for All Handicapped Children Act mandating transition services and adding autism and traumatic brain injury to eligibility•Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law by President Bush mandating all local, state and federal government programs be accessible as well as public accommodations

1992First charter school appears in Michigan (City Academic High School)

Tim-Berners-Lee

1993•Jacqueline and Martin Brooks’ “In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms” is published. •Massachusetts Education Reform Act requires common curriculum and statewide tests (first in the nation)•Federal government begins direct lending (public student loans)

1994Goals 2000 signed into law by President Clinton setting goals for standards-based education reform, considered to be the predecessor to No Child Left Behind

1995Smartboards made their way into classrooms

1996 •D. Berliner & R. Calfee publish the “Handbook of Educational Psychology”•James Banks’ book “Multicultural Education: Transformative Knowledge and Action” makes contribution to growing body of scholarship in multiculturism in America

James Banks

1998•California passes Proposition 227 requiring all public school instruction be in English•Higher Education Act reauthorized requiring institutions and states to produce “report cards” about teacher education•Google invented

1999Columbine High School Tragedy occurs with two students killing 15 and wounding 23

2001No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) signed into law by George W. Bush reauthorizing ESEA holding schools accountable for student achievement & penalizes school that don’t make yearly progress toward goals of NCLB

Columbine High School

2002US Supreme Court in the case of Zelman-Simmons-Harris ruled that school voucher programs are constitutional and do not violate the first amendment

2003The Higher Education Act is reauthorized, expanding access to higher education for low and middle income students

2004The IDEA reauthorized including modifications in the IEP process and procedural safeguards, increased authority for school personnel in special education placement decisions and alignment of IDEA with No Child Left Behind Act

2009The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 provides more than 90 billion dollars for education

Works Cited

A Timeline of Historical Events in the Development of Educational Psychology.

(2010). Northern Illinois University Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University website: http://www.cedu.niu.edu/lepf/ edpsych/timeline.pdf Ayala, M. (2010, February). Timeline Of Relevant Events In Special Education Myrnas Version. In Slideshare. Retrieved June 10, 2010, from

http://www.slideshare.net/MyrnaAyala/ timeline-of-relevant-events -in-special-education-myrnas-version

Historical Timeline of Public Education in the US . (2009). The Applied Research

Center. Retrieved June 10, 2010, from Applied Resource Center website: http://www.arc.org/content/view/100/48/