Expansion (1945 - 1965)
Commission on English
Following the success of the Commission on Mathematics, the College Board appointed the Commission on English in 1959. It was appointed in response to concerns of those in secondary and higher education about the state of high school English.
The Commission on English had six broad aims. Four dealt directly with the secondary curriculum. Two dealt with disseminating the information emanating from the Commission on English.
The Commission on English worked to upgrade the teaching of English in secondary, college-preparatory courses and to design curricular and teaching materials. The Commission also worked to emphasize the improvement in the academic preparation of English teachers and the conditions under which they worked. It also aimed to encourage patterns of teacher-training that involved college and university English departments and not just education departments.
The Commission on English also aimed to have information about it and its programs available to school and college teachers of English. It aimed to make known its recommendations to school administrators and all those concerned with strengthening the English curriculum.
The assumption underlying the work of the Commission on English was two-pronged. Those on the Commission on English believed that schools and teachers should be free to choose what kind of English curriculum was best for their students. However, this freedom would only be effective and earned if teachers had professional training, which, according to the Commission on English, most teachers lacked.
Such an assumption allowed the Commission on English and the College Board to simultaneously exert effort to control the secondary curriculum and decree that they were not engaged in curricular revision or determination.
The final report of the Commission on English reflected this dual nature in its title. The College Board printed 100,00 copies of Freedom and Discipline in English (1965) at the first printing.
The Commission on English recommended a secondary English curriculum of language, literature, and composition. The Commission recommended that teachers cooperate in the planning of the English curriculum and accumulate and pass on the assessment and evaluation data of students each year.
The Commission further recommended specific working conditions for the English teacher, such as a maximum of 4 classes to be taught a day and of 25 students in each class. It also suggested secondary schools make available certain space, a library, materials, and clerical resources for English teachers.
Regarding teacher certification, the Commission on English recommended basic minimum requirements for the certification of English teachers. The Commission also recommended that temporary certificates in English teaching be valid for only 1 year and only renewable upon evidence of professional study. The Commission on English suggested that school systems financially contribute toward the post-certification study of its English teachers.
