Michael Weston reports that Hillsborough County is field testing the PARCC tests, despite previous declarations by the Governor that PARCC was not wanted.
According to Weston, the local superintendent has never seen a test she didn’t love. She insists that teachers want and need more tests. Weston says, “Huh?”
“PARCC will replace the Stanford Achievement Test the district normally uses. The district can double-check FCAT results against the nationally-normed Stanford exam to see if scores match up. PARCC can serve the same purpose. In Hillsborough County, our children are special enough to be given extra exams. Our superintendent administers the Stanford test in addition to the standardized exams (FCAT) required by the state. Should the FCAT show a failing on the superintendent’s part, she has the Stanford results to slice, dice, parse and farce until she can show a favorable result. It’s for the kids.
“But wait! FCAT is going away. Common-core is coming. Common-core test XYZ will replace FCAT. PARCC will replace Stanford. Do I have that right? Yes.”
In Hillsborough County, you can never test kids too much or too often!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Hillsborough has received all kinds of RTTT and Federal funding. Enough said…
Hillsborough is one of Gates’s demonstration districts, a laboratory for various initiatives to be rolled out nationwide later on.
It is interesting that they are participating in testing for PARCC when PARCC did NOT even submit a bid during the new test procurement process to be awarded in March. Florida will not be using PARCC.
It sounds like nirvanah
There are many very talented and dedicated teachers here. He was smart to choose such a place.
Am getting newsletters from Achieve. Seems they are suddenly stressing the importance of the Common Core. Could they be concerned.? KC
You’ve probably all been wondering how to go about implementing the new Common Core State Standards so that you can do your part
to make your students College and Career Ready and
to reverse the utter failure of the U.S. public schools to produce any positive outcomes ever.
You’re probably wondering, too, how to make sure that your students are ready for the new Common Core College and Career Ready Assessment Program (CCCCRAP).
Well, here’s a simple process that you can begin implementing today:
1. Give all your students lessons on test-taking strategies.
In fact, replace all instruction with those. And play and recess and art and music of course.
2. Then test your students on the test-taking strategies.
But don’t stop with such luke-warm implementation. Kick it up.
3. Give your students lessons on taking tests on test-taking strategies.
4. Then give them tests on lessons on taking tests on test-taking strategies.
5. And give them lessons on taking tests on lessons on taking tests on test-taking strategies.
and so on.
Hope you’ve got the picture now.
See how simple and productive THAT???!!!
You’re welcome.
Clearly, the approach under NCLB wasn’t RIGOROUS enough. It didn’t have nearly enough emphasis on summative high-stakes bubble testing based on bullet lists of standards. And the penalties weren’t severe enough, and “teachers” didn’t explore in sufficient detail the metacogntive skills college-and-career-ready students really need because they barely touched on metacognition about metacognition, much less metacognition about metacognition about metacognition. And, worse yet, none of those tests were taken on computers running the world’s greatest operating system, and when software licenses are sold, well, that’s the whole point, isn’t it? I mean, let’s be real here.
The simple approach outlined above will be, as Arne Duncan says, “a game changer.” He’s our guy. He’s not an educator, but he plays one in Washington.
All hail the data gods, and good luck. You’re going to need it when this all hits the fan (uh, reaches its full implementation).
This easy guide to aligning your instructional program to the Common Core is brought to you by the Common Core Curriculum Commissariat and Ministry of Truth (C^4 MiniTru), formerly, the free and independent public school system of the United States. U.S. K-12 education, now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Perhaps thing like this is why teachers get “testy”.
NOT LOL.