Politico reports on the opinion poll conducted by the rightwing journal Education Next:
“COMMON CORE WAR MELLOWING?: Support for the Common Core standards is dropping, but it’s not in a freefall. In fact, it might even be stabilizing. Education Next’s new annual survey [http://bit.ly/1KsoOF2 ] released with the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard Kennedy School shows overall support slipped this year, falling four percentage points to 49 percent. A year earlier, however, support fell 12 points in one year. The survey has two more key takeaways on Common Core: Democrats over Republicans favor the standards (by a 57 percent to 37 percent margin), and the standards are becoming less popular with teachers. (Seventy-six percent of teachers in 2013 said they support the standards compared to 40 percent this year).”
To read the Education Next report, go here.
The big story here is the dramatic decline in support for the standards by teachers: from 76% in 2013 to 40% in 2015. That is a dramatic decline. Teachers know the standards. The general public does not. Pay attention to the connoisseurs.
While Education Next says a majority oppose opting out from tests, what is remarkable is that a third of parents and teachers support it. Acts of conscience do not require majority approval. If the civil rights movement and legislators had abided by opinion polls in the 1950s and 1960s, American society would still have laws requiring racial segregation.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Mainscream Media, and that includes PBS, are encumbered by a serious conflict of interest these days because they all see an opportunity to sink their teeth deep into the public education money pie and their so-called news and opinion pieces are just dripping with the anticipatory Pavlovian saliva.
LikeLike
Yep! You are right again, Jon! ( ..as usual!) 😃
LikeLike
See my comments on this blog earlier in the day at
Washington Post Defends Common Core, Attacks Critics on the Right and the Left Who Oppose It
LikeLike
Yes, We need a report from a left wing journal to balance this.
LikeLike
Any suggestions?
LikeLike
“Acts of conscience do not require majority approval. If the civil rights movement and legislators had abided by opinion polls in the 1950s and 1960s, American society would still have laws requiring racial segregation.”
Quite correct, Diane!!
Unfortunately the vast majority approve of “grading” students. And that vast majority is wrong in its thinking. But cultural habitus is very difficult to break when so many have been brought up in what appears to be a rational system-grades for students but which is really an irrational-illogical concept and/or belief.
I’ve seen a non-grading system work very well for all involved. It is an interactive one of student, parent and teacher interaction to describe what the student knows/can do at his/her particular point in his/her teaching and learning process. That interactive assessment is just one of many ways that a positive cooperative (in the sense of teacher/student/parent cooperation, not the current “cooperative learning” definition) evaluation, usually narrative based, by all three parties can be used to help further a child’s education.
But this type of assessment/evaluation requires time and resources so that the teacher(s) have time to work with the parents and children.
Are we willing to pay for a “true” assessment, one that is logical and beneficial for the students or are we going to continue to pay for an irrational/illogical and harmful system (standards and standardized testing) that wastes time, resources and harms many students?
Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go in obtaining a more logical, humane, caring and compassionate system so that each and every, all students can benefit in their learning process/progression. And until we do we will continue to discriminate against many students due to their inherent intellectual abilities/capabilities which in essence is no different than discriminating against someone by race, gender, and other out of control characteristics.
LikeLike
“Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go in obtaining a more logical, humane, caring and compassionate system so that each and every, all students can benefit in their learning process/progression. And until we do we will continue to discriminate against many students due to their inherent intellectual abilities/capabilities which in essence is no different than discriminating against someone by race, gender, and other out of control characteristics.”
Bravo, Duane! This is the essence of the problem – if you’ve ever read “Harrison Bergeron” by Vonnegut, you can quickly see the impossibility of making all equal – instead that system has to handicap those who are “gifted” by limiting their gifts! Intellectual ability is simply one facet of what makes us human… other qualities are important too!
LikeLike
Thanks, fch, I’ll have to check out that Vonnegut book at the library.
LikeLike
Read it online. Drives the false equality = everyone alike point home well.
LikeLike
If we eliminated all grades tomorrow, I know that within a short time that students would be able to roughly rank themselves and their classmates pretty accurately. Pecking orders are not always kind. Therefore, I am guessing that how a system of ranking is viewed and what its purpose is is more important than what system is used or what rank is assigned. No matter what we say, when we assess a student’s performance, we are comparing that student’s performance to some standard. How do we make sure that students learn to use those assessments to promote further growth and to provide guidance? Let’s face it. We all get graded. What allows us to have a healthy response? What send us into a tailspin? What makes some people better at using criticism/evaluation both positive and negative? As you can probably tell, grading was a real struggle for me.
LikeLike
“Let’s face it. We all get graded.”
2o2t,
No, I don’t “face it”. I turn my back to it (grading of others) as a sign of disrespect to that concept as it does not merit my respect.
And the ol’ “everyone is doing it” just doesn’t wash with me. My mom disavowed me of that notion back when I was a pre-teen when I wanted to do something “everybody was doing” and she knew to be idiotic, wrong, dangerous: “Duane”, she’d say, “just because everyone is jumping off the cliff doesn’t mean that I’m going to allow you to do so, so the answer for umpteenth time is NO!” (I used to be a persistent bugger)
LikeLike
That’s not what I meant, Duane. What I meant is that comparison and even ranking is a part of every day life from birth to death. We just don’t reduce it to five letters, at least not all the time. Best sellers, literary awards, BBB seal of approval, Consumer Guide rankings…how many organizations want “the best and the brightest”? Restaurant critics, movie critics, beauty pageants, the Olympics,… What is important is that we put all of these assessments in perspective. Too often grades in school become a surrogate for the worth of the student. That is wrong.
LikeLike
The Education Next survey is a “push” poll meaning the questions are framed for the purpose of developing a messaging campaign. In this case, the messaging can be tailored to different demographic groups. Two background questions on page 23 should be of interest in the current political season.
Would you say that you have been born again or have had a born-‐again experience -‐- that is, a turning point in your life when you committed yourself to Jesus Christ? There are demographic breakouts for this YES/NO question.
Another background question asks about present, and past union memberships.
Readers should know that this poll (with versions since 2007) reflects the educational agenda preferred by conservatives including union busting. EdNext is sponsored by The Fordham Institute, The Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and Harvard Kennedy School of Policy and Governance.
LikeLike
Thanks for that info, Laura. You always come up with excellent comments!
LikeLike
I don’t know why polling matters. They put it in without public debate or input. Caring about what the public thinks about public school programs wasn’t a high priority then.
Why is it now? If it was polling poorly or differently would they change anything they’re doing?
I’d prefer some actual numbers on Common Core. How much time and money has been expended? How much of that burden fell on local schools? How much of any federal or state funding devoted to the Common Core actually found it’s way into classrooms and to the kids who were the subject of this experiment?
For “data” people they sure spend a lot of time on marketing and spin.
LikeLike
“I’d prefer some actual numbers on Common Core. How much time and money has been expended? How much of that burden fell on local schools? How much of any federal or state funding devoted to the Common Core actually found it’s way into classrooms and to the kids who were the subject of this experiment?”
Hear, hear! Accountability for the accountability-hucksters, on my media-coverage wishlist. I’d add: same questions for CC-aligned standardized tests. And cross-reference both to non-governor-manipulated test scores, NAEP and PISA.
LikeLike
Tell me this, isn’t Common Core against the law according to the Constitution?
LikeLike
In what sense ddermady?
LikeLike
As I’ve noted her numerous times, it makes no sense to be against the Common Core but in favor of the ACT, PSAT, SAT and Advanced Placement. They are all blended now; they’re part-and-parcel of the very same thing. Both ACT, Inc. and the College Board were key players in the development of the Common Core. They helped to create it. Their “products” are all “aligned” to it.
So, if – for example – teachers (or parents, or students) are opposed to the Common Core, yet their school has a ton of AP (and “pre-AP”) courses, then, guess what?, the Common Core is already there.
And, if undoing the Common Core is the goal, then that’d be a good place to start.
LikeLike
I am a full fledged BAT, and activist teacher. However, after leading a study group that analyzed math CCS (and more importantly the Progression Documents that provide further detail) and having taught using those standards last year, I must say that I frankly love them. They require teachers to teach in such a way as for their students to develop a deep conceptual understanding of math While the testing is balderdash, and the imposition of the standards by the feds is also balderdash. The math standards themselves, while not perfect in every way, have provided my school with an avenue to greatly improve math instruction. In our group we discussed how the standards were developed and also discussed how to handle areas that to our professional knowledge are ill conceived, but overall they provide a direction that is positive for math in my district. My guess is that other districts and states, if they move beyond the political rhetoric would find the math portion of the CCS over-archingly sound and enlightening.
Of course all the testing must go, and I have heard horrible things of the reading standards, but there is much to love in the math standards. I hope the baby does not get thrown out with the bathwater and that other schools and districts are able to take the time to study and find the good in the math standards – I believe they provide a more humane and intellectual way to teach math.
LikeLike
Just curious….if a teacher really wanted to teach in a more “humane and intellectual way” – with deep conceptual understanding – would she really need the Common Core to do it?
LikeLike
I was reading an ad for a special ed teaching position this morning. I keep reading them even though I will not go back to teaching. The ads remind me why teaching has become so toxic. The ad repeatedly mentioned the teacher’s ability to perform some Danielson type skill with little loss of teaching time. The whole thing reeked of excessive big brother and commented on everything except when you went home or even if you did. None of what they said could not be molded into a well run classroom. They even mentioned the building of relationships with students and their families as well as with other faculty members. The school system is a good system but has moved to a more corporate method of operation. I am sure they try to mold the more egregious elements of Common Core to their needs. If the whole push was just a benign suggestion to look at the reformist culture and glean from it what is relevant to your local system, there would not have been the outcry. Instead we got a heavy-handed, paternalistic attempt to remake/unmake public education by an elite group who really have had little to do with public education professionally or personally but are sure they know what is best (especially if what is best is of benefit to them).
LikeLike
I think some teachers & parents are afraid any resistance will be punished. The response in NY to threaten districts if parents opt-out is a good example. There is a lot of $$ and face involved in this deeply flawed idea, and I think the advocates and stakeholders will not retreat w/o trying some harsh measures – too much at risk in terms of self interest.
LikeLike
I tabulated the opinions of 1000 teachers regarding the topic of “accountability” in a 2014 NEA survey.
Only a dozen teachers either supported high stakes testing or common core, or were neutral. Period.
LikeLike