Archives for category: Common Core
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Grace Breaks Up with Common Core

By dianeravitch
February 15, 2014 //
104

This letter arrived recently from Rhode Island:

“Dear Ms. Ravitch, Another example of what’s happening in Little Rhody: We also received an incredible letter from Grace (last name withheld), a High School Junior in a southern Rhode Island town who wrote a “breakup letter” with Common Core. I have independently verified the author’s authenticity but have not published her last name for privacy reasons. You can contact me for more details: tad@stopcommoncoreri.org . I hope you publish this letter on your blog to show everyone the sort of creativity and independent thinking we will lose from our students under the Common Core.

Her “breakup letter” is pasted below and also here: http://www.stopcommoncoreri.org/the_home_room_blog

———
Breaking Up With Common Core

I’ve decided to write a letter. A breakup letter, that is. I am a teenage girl in modern day America and, therefore, one might blame the ever-present Taylor Swift songs for this creation. However, I am a teenager in modern day America and, therefore, one might blame a set of standards. Those assuming the latter case would be correct. Common Core State Standards will have us singing the blues before we know it, so before things get too serious, while I still can, I’m breaking up with Common Core.

Dear Common Core,

I would begin by saying the cliché “It’s not you, it’s me.” But I’d be lying. It is you. I’m sorry, I’m too harsh? Maybe I am, so here are some tips for your future relationships. Take these into consideration and you might spare yourself a broken heart next time.

1. You’re too controlling. You’re changing education to become a form of the factory system. I’ve heard people talk about how robots are replacing humans as our technology grows, but it is your fault. Under your standards we are manufacturing robots in huge factories called “Elementary School”, “Junior High School” and “High School”. The result of such manufacturing is students who are being robbed of individuality. However, this is one of the most important aspects of education. Individuality must be present in school because it allows for an exchange of ideas and a great diversity of perspectives; the very things that I believe make education so valuable. Nobody likes “Bossy Pants” looming over their shoulder, constantly telling them what to do.

2. You make unfair comparisons. There is too much testing because of the use of PARCC. Every student learns differently and tests differently; however, they will still be assessed in the same way. With this taken into account, how is it possible that your standardized testing fairly and accurately measures the students’ abilities and knowledge? Even if you are able to do so, you’re still comparing each person to others, so how can you possibly have the time to focus on each individual and build upon their strengths while helping to strengthen them in their weak areas? Additionally, harder tests do not mean more learning, it simply means harder tests. Therefore, this means that between too many questions, not enough answers and static learning, you’re just bad news.

3. You’re a compulsive liar. You say that you help better prepare students for college and careers; your supporters cling to this statement, but do you truly do so? The National Education Association tried to warn me in their policy briefing, where it is written “there is no research or evidence indicating that national standards are essential for a nation’s students to be high achievers.” You almost convinced me that the “real world” calls for finding functions, answering multiple-choice questions and graphing parabolas. In ending this relationship, I am able to understand that there is more than this. I see a world that demands its inhabitants to achieve greatness of all sorts. Greatness, in my opinion is doing something that makes a change; it is something that makes an impact. Whether it is done in complete anonymity or not does not matter, nor is it important how large or small the impact is. I believe that through education we can set the students up to achieve this greatness, because it is what the world needs. This world craves art, beauty, and passion. It is a place in which a sculptor’s hands are equally important to those of a doctor and where the words of a poet are as powerful as those of a lawyer. So let these words be a lesson, in any future relationship, honesty is the best policy.

It would probably be in everyone’s best interest if you went back to the land of bumbling businessmen and paltering politicians. I’m sure there’s other fish in the sea… not in Rhode Island, but maybe somewhere… maybe not.

Good Riddance Common Core,

Grace [Last Name Withheld by Editor]

RI High School Junior”

Categories Common Core, Students

Peter Greene Reacts to a Teacher Who Supports CCSS

By dianeravitch
February 14, 2014 //
23

Peter Greene read a column by a teacher in Arkansas who is enthusiastic about the Common Core standards.

He is not a strident critic of Common Core. Count him as agnostic.

But when a supporter describes the virtues of Common Core, Greene wonders what they were doing before CCSS.

What does it encourage or permit that is new or different?

Categories Common Core

Hillsborough County, Fla; Where Testing Trumps All

By dianeravitch
February 14, 2014 //
8

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!

Categories Common Core, Florida, Testing

Bill Gates: Why the United States Really Needs Common Core Standards

By dianeravitch
February 13, 2014 //
270

The Gates Foundation spent nearly $200 million to pay for the writing, review, evaluation, dissemination, and promotion of the Common Core standards.

It is difficult to find a D.C.-based education organization that has not received millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation to promote the standards.

Bill Gates believes in the Common Core standards.

That is why he wrote this article to explain that they really were developed by parents, teachers, local governments, and others, not by four D.C.-based organizations that he funded.

He also wants you to know that Common Core will not mean more testing. He said so, so it must be so. It does not concern him that almost all testing will be done online by two federally-funded consortia, and the questions will be written by people who work for those organizations, not by the teachers who know the students best.

And he is not at all concerned that the standards were never field-tested, even though Microsoft would never launch a new product line without extensive field-testing.

Nor does it bother him that whenever the standards have been tested, passing rates drop by 30% or so, and most kids are told they have failed.

Nor does he comment on the unusually high failure rate of English learners, students with disabilities, and students of color. Consistency matters!

Do you agree with Bill Gates?

Will common standards produce more or less creativity?

 

Categories Common Core, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates

Teacher in L.A. Reviews “Close Reading” in Common Core

By dianeravitch
February 13, 2014 //
116

This article was written by a teacher in Los Angeles. She describes the implantation of the Common Core standards. She is especially perplexed by the practice of “close reading,” which means that students are expected to comprehend text without any context or background knowledge.

She and her colleagues were disappointed by the “professional development,” which was not at all professional.

She writes:

“Our trainer started the session by apologizing sincerely for all the anxiety and confusion surrounding the rushed implementation of the Common Core State Standards in LAUSD. The first slide in her PowerPoint presentation showed the governance structure of LAUSD. At the top was the elected school board. She was letting us know that if we had issues with the Common Core State Standards, we needed to bring these up with the school board. Everyone else down the line, she implied, was just following marching orders, and it would do no good to call and harass them.

“We were lucky. When I returned to school, I found out that the math teachers had had a similar training session. However, theirs started with the trainer telling them that no “negativity” would be tolerated, and that it wasn’t a question-and-answer session. In essence, they were told to sit down and shut up and not bring up concerns about the reordering of the teaching of important concepts that is happening in math under the Common Core State Standards.

“At least we were treated like professionals.”

Then came the training about how to teach the Gettysburg Address by close reading.

The teacher writes:

“When we discussed the sample Gettysburg assessment, several teachers pointed out that the assessment offers no background on the Gettysburg Address. Students are not to be given any information about the speech, even if they are relatively new to the country. Many of us in LAUSD have students in our regular English classes who have only been in the United States a year or two, and they most likely do not know our history.

“Other students may simply not remember their U.S. history lessons from middle school, and may have forgotten who Abraham Lincoln was, or why the Gettysburg Address is important, or even that “address” in this instance means a speech and not a location.

“If a student is clueless but lucky, she might be sitting next to a student who does know this information. (All the Common Core assessments I’ve seen so far require discussion with a partner, but forbid talking to the teacher. So if you are a genius or sit next to one, you hit the Common Core lottery.)

“But those kinds of concerns are apparently very pre-Common Core, and are outdated now.

“When we asked if we could do a little pre-teaching to provide context, our trainer somberly shook her head.

“She actually said it would be best to simply give the “cold, hard assessment,” and that we need to “remove the scaffolding sometime.”

“Then I noticed a relic on the wall from the pre-Common Core era—a poster of Bloom’s Taxonomy. The Bloom’s Taxonomy chart is a pyramid. At the bottom is the foundation of all learning. As you go up the pyramid, the tasks increase in complexity (notice I did not say “rigor”).

“At the base of the pyramid is knowledge. Next up is comprehension. After that come application, analysis, synthesis, and then at the top, evaluation.

“I couldn’t help myself. I raised my hand to ask a question.

“Isn’t giving this assessment without giving the students the background—the context for the speech—kind of like expecting them to come in on the Bloom’s taxonomy chart at comprehension, without making sure they first have the knowledge?”

“Then something interesting happened. The trainer looked like I had zapped her with a stun gun for a second. She actually physically jerked. Then she recovered, and said we could discuss that after the training. (We didn’t.)”

Categories Common Core, Los Angeles, Students

Carol Burris: How the NY Regents Fooled the Public on Common Core

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
13

Carol Burris explains here how the New York Board of Regents hoaxed the public into thinking they had agreed to major changes when they actually changed nothing.

She writes:

“The press was led to believe the Regents pulled back the passing scores on the Common Core English Language Arts and math exams for the Class of 2017 from 75 and 80 to a score of 65 on both exams. The State Education Department claims that scores of 75 and 80 indicate “college readiness”—a metric they created.
Here is the reality. They had no intention of raising the scores from 65 to 75/80 in three years. Back in the fall, the Regents made it clear that for graduation purposes, students would still be able to earn a 65 on new standardized tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards in order to graduate……

“King and the Regents know that raising the passing scores will result in a precipitous drop in graduation rates. Based on last year’s results, the graduation rate would drop from 74 percent to 35 percent. If you believe that they had any intention of letting that happen in three years, I can sell you a bridge to nowhere in Alaska.
What the Regents did on Monday was actually set a date for when students would have to meet these “aspirational” scores (75/80). The long-term plan, however, is that the Regents exams, as we know them, will be long gone by 2022, replaced by computer based PARCC tests.

“In short, the Regents are “rolling back” what they never did in the first place. Right now, ninth-grade students, the Class of 2017, are mandated to take the Common Core Algebra Regents. The passing score on this exam is 65.”

Two members of the Regents–both experienced educators–opposed the changes because they wanted the standards to be reviewed by New York teachers, not sent back to the original writers (who have dispersed and no longer exist as a writing committee), and they sought a moratorium on the testing, which the Regents did not agree to.

Categories Common Core

Stan Karp: The Trouble with the Common Core

By dianeravitch
February 11, 2014 //
23

In this trenchant analysis of the Common Core, Stan Karp explains that the fundamental problem is not about their content but their context.

While people argue the merits of the Common Core, public education itself is under assault:

Karp writes:

Today everything about the Common Core, even the brand name—the Common Core State Standards—is contested because these standards were created as an instrument of contested policy. They have become part of a larger political project to remake public education in ways that go well beyond slogans about making sure every student graduates “college and career ready,” however that may be defined this year. We’re talking about implementing new national standards and tests for every school and district in the country in the wake of dramatic changes in the national and state context for education reform. These changes include:

A 10-year experiment in the use of federally mandated standards and tests called No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that has been almost universally acknowledged as a failure.

The adoption of test-based teacher evaluation frameworks in dozens of states, largely as a result of federal mandates.

Multiple rounds of budget cuts and layoffs that have left 34 of the 50 states providing less funding for education than they did five years ago, and the elimination of more than 300,000 teaching positions.

A wave of privatization that has increased the number of publicly funded but privately run charter schools by 50 percent, while nearly 4,000 public schools have been closed in the same period.

An appalling increase in the inequality and child poverty surrounding our schools, categories in which the United States leads the world and that tell us far more about the source of our educational problems than the uneven quality of state curriculum standards.
A dramatic increase in the cost and debt burden of college access.

A massively well-financed campaign of billionaires and politically powerful advocacy organizations that seeks to replace our current system of public education—which, for all its many flaws, is probably the most democratic institution we have and one that has done far more to address inequality, offer hope, and provide opportunity than the country’s financial, economic, political, and media institutions—with a market-based, non-unionized, privately managed system.

Categories Common Core

NY Saga Heats Up as Advocates Blast Regents

By dianeravitch
February 10, 2014 //
28

The Regents pledged to tweak the botched Common Core rollout, which caused Governor Cuomo to accuse them of backing away from tough teacher evaluation (they didn’t).

Now parents and educators condemn the Regents for failing to address their concerns:

From: “NYS Allies for Public Education”
Date: February 10, 2014 at 4:40:37 PM EST

To: “‘NYS Allies for Public Education'”

Subject: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- Parents and Educators Outraged by Regents Unwillingness to Assume Responsibility and Change Course
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 10, 2014

More information contact:
Eric Mihelbergel (716) 553-1123; nys.allies@gmail.com
Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com
NYS Allies for Public Education http://www.nysape.org

Parents and Educators Outraged by Regents Unwillingness to Assume Responsibility and Change Course

The leaders of the NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE), a coalition of more than 45 parent and educator groups from throughout the state, expressed extreme disappointment that the NYS Regent Common Core Taskforce refused to address the real issues undermining education in this state and made only minor tweaks to current policies. The report is quite clear that the Regents continue to ignore the deep flaws in the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS), excessive high stakes state testing and student data sharing. The recommendations can be viewed here: http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2014/February2014/214p12hea3.pdf

Tim Farley, a parent of four public school children and the Principal of Ichabod Crane Elementary/Middle School said, “Today’s recommendations from Commissioner King and the Regents task force reveal just how out of touch they are and how obsessive their appetite is for excessive state tests. The fact that they refuse to subject their own children to these excessive testing and data policies is very telling. The parents and educators of New York have been paying attention, and they are justifiably outraged.”

“The need to replace the four incumbent Regents members is more important than ever,” said Eric Mihelbergel, Ken-Ton public school parent and founding member of NYSAPE. The Regents Taskforce failed to address the real concerns of parents and again has displayed disconnect from their constituents. Their recommendations today tell me the State is full steam ahead with this failed reform agenda.”

Carol Burris, South Side High Principal and 2013 Principal of the Year stated, “For a deliberative body that is so insistent that students, schools and educators be held accountable, their unwillingness to assume responsibility for their blunders and respond by correcting course is breathtaking. For example, they shift the review of the New York State Common Core standards to the National Governors Association, rather than assume that responsibility themselves. At nearly every turn they “advocate”, or “encourage” others to take action, rather than earnestly respond to what they heard. Developing a “teacher portal” and more low quality materials, is hardly the response our parents expected. The tinkering with dates and semantics about college ready scores at the high school level provides no relief for our K-8 students from testing or from the implementation of flawed curriculum. ”

“Instead of simply calling for a delay in the uploading of private student data onto an insecure data cloud, and pass the responsibility to deal with this issue to the Legislature, the Regents should have insisted that the inBloom contract be cancelled, as every other state has done. Why should New York continue to be the worst place in the country when it comes to student privacy?” asked Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters.

“The notion that more time to phase in standards or train teachers will somehow cure the ills of a deficient curriculum and inappropriate tests is misguided. Just as troubling is the suggestion that teachers should continue to be evaluated on the basis of a system no one believes in, and that if they are threatened with losing their jobs, they should “raise an alleged failure” of their districts to properly implement the Common Core – when the fault lies with the state. There is no need for more money to ‘engage’ parents with implementation of CCLS. Parents have made their voices perfectly clear in demanding that these destructive policies be brought to an immediate halt,” said Jessica McNair, New Hartford public school parent.

“The Regents appear not to understand that the actual time spent on testing per day, multiplied out over six days of the state assessments, is inappropriate for all students despite the misleading statistics quoted in recommendations,” stated Chris Cerrone, Western New York public school parent of two elementary-aged children.

“Our state education system remains in turmoil, yet the recommendations of this task force do nothing to address the profound problems associated with the standards and excessive high stakes testing. They simply echo the false sentiments of Chancellor Tisch and Commissioner King, by providing nothing more than superficial suggestions in an attempt to pacify the public. Parents will not be so easily assuaged,” said Jeanette Deutermann, Bellmore public school parent and founder of Long Island Opt-Out.

###

Categories Common Core, New York

Cuomo Blasts Regents for Common Core Fumbling

By dianeravitch
February 10, 2014 //
50

Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement blasting the Regents for seeming to delay the tough teacher evaluation that Cuomo wants.

Common Core has turned into a giant mess. The Regents and Commissioner John King want to appear to compromise without compromising.

The governor condemns them for compromising.

Here is the Regents’ statement.

This is the report of the Regents Working Group that came up with tweaks.

The governor said this:

Andrew M. Cuomo – Governor
Statement From Governor Cuomo

Albany, NY (February 10, 2014)

“Today’s recommendations are another in a series of missteps by the Board of Regents that suggests the time has come to seriously reexamine its capacity and performance. These recommendations are simply too little, too late for our parents and students.

“Common Core is the right goal and direction as it is vital that we have a real set of standards for our students and a meaningful teacher evaluation system.

However, Common Core’s implementation in New York has been flawed and mismanaged from the start.

“As far as today’s recommendations are concerned, there is a difference between remedying the system for students and parents and using this situation as yet another excuse to stop the teacher evaluation process.

“The Regents’ response is to recommend delaying the teacher evaluation system and is yet another in a long series of roadblocks to a much needed evaluation system which the Regents had stalled putting in place for years.

“I have created a commission to thoroughly examine how we can address these issues. The commission has started its work and we should await their recommendations so that we can find a legislative solution this session to solve these problems.”

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Categories Common Core, Cuomo, Andrew, New York

Long Island Poll: 86% Thumbs Down on Common Core

By dianeravitch
February 10, 2014 //
22

Even as the Néw York Board of Regents made minor tweaks to the Common Core standards and testing, a poll by News 12, Long Island’s only TV news station, showed simmering anti – Common Core sentiment in this crucial suburban area.

8% say Delay It
86% say Eliminate It
6% say Leave It Alone

Long Island has been a hotbed of anti-Common Core activism.

A special committee of the Regents reviewed the botched implementation.

The committee proposed asking the original writers of the standards to review them, instead of assembling Néw York’s best teachers to do a review.

Very odd recommendation. The National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Student Achievement Partners wrote the standards. Why would the Refents expect these inside-the-beltway, Gates-funded groups to know how to fix them?

Why not trust the state’s practitioners who know the students and know how to improve the standards?

Categories Common Core, New York
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