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Showing posts with the label Common Core State Standards

A Chink in the Common Core Armor

For the last several years, we’ve seen a parade of prominent educators, businessmen, and politicians extolling the virtues of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).   Big money has been spent, and in the educational enterprise, big means really big.   The US Department of Education conditioned some state funding on the basis of states accepting and implementing the new standards.  Partly because of the probably correct perception our public education system was failing, the CCSS were adopted with virtually no testing by at least forty states.   It was hoped, actually expected, that most states would now be rowing with common ores and the result would be a stronger national educational system.    But these standards are intellectually demanding as to what is taught and importantly to how they are to be taught.    Many of our students and teachers were not up to the challenge.   The teachers were given insufficient training, and the students were left in the wake of this giant oil

High Stakes Testing - 2014

National Standardized Tests. For those interested in the current state of K-12 education in the United States. The 2014 round of standardized exam administration got underway in several states this week. As predicted by FairTest and our Testing Resistance & Reform Spring (TRRS) allies, opt-out campaigns and other forms of protest exploded in many communities. See http://www.resistthetest.org The CCSS, Common Core of States Standard, is more-or-less a set of national standards aimed at improving K-12 education.  In mathematics, its goal is to increase thought provoking curricula with an emphasis on problem solving in all grades.  Of coruse, this sounds great.  It sounds as though at least someone has found the true path.  And 47 state agreed.  Currently, only Indiana has opted out. Of course, in the interest of accountability, there are the associated high stakes tests to measure compliance and achievement of the so-called "Core."  An unsurprising controversy has emerged.