Archives for category: Common Core
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Help the U.S. Department of Education Evaluate State Tests

By dianeravitch
August 31, 2013 //
14

The U.S. Department of Education on its official blog asked
for help and advice in evaluating state testing systems aligned
with the Common Core. Forget the fact that the U.S. Department of
Education is barred by law from doing anything to control or direct
curriculum and instruction. How about offering your help?

Here is a suggestion posted as a comment:

“First of all let’s address the
standards you are referring to (Common Core). These standards are
ridiculous in every sense of the word! You want 6 year olds to know
what ziggurats are and a kindergartener to know what molecules are
(look at NY ELA modules)? They are developmentally inappropriate!
They are learning their name and the names of their classmates. Be
realistic. “Secondly, we are testing too much! My kids sit through
hours and hours of useless testing. Assessments are important when
they can inform the teacher on a student’s growth. Tell me how
standardized tests do this? They don’t ….the results come out 5
months after the test. They give a score, but nothing else.
Teachers can’t see the tests, so how can they see what Junior
answered? How was Junior confused? Then, there is the expectation
that a 4 year old can sit in front of a computer to take a test.
This is child abuse! It is child abuse for a 3rd grader to sit
through hours of testing. And it is in poor judgement that a
special needs student be tortured with these as well. “All of this
has resulted in kids hating school. If all they are ever told is
they are a failure, then why would we wonder why they drop out of
school? Kids need choices. Maybe they aren’t cut out to be a rocket
scientist, but would make a great carpenter. Let’s foster that
talent and stop thinking “one size fits all”. “Why do states have
to have testing? To compare with other states? To compare with the
rest of the world? How much does this testing cost? Lots! Why don’t
we take that money, put it into programs that foster economic
growth, like art and music? Offer children after school activities
that are inspiring, like music, dance, art, sports. You know,
things that are fun, but foster student worth. “We are not moving
in the right direction with education “reform”. It is causing more
problems. If you want to improve education so the US compares to
other countries, like Finland, then take a good hard look at how
they do it! We will not get the same results by trying to implement
the opposite ideas! Stop demoralizing teachers and students! You
are getting nowhere on that stationary bike!”

Categories Common Core, Testing, U.S. Department of Education

E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Opposes Value-Added Teacher Evaluation

By dianeravitch
August 30, 2013 //
30

E.D. Hirsch, Jr., the founder of the Core Knowledge curriculum, wrote an article opposing value-added teacher evaluation, especially in reading. Hirsch supports the Common Core but thinks it may be jeopardized by the rush to test it and tie the scores to teacher evaluations. He knows this will encourage teaching to the test and other negative consequences.

Hirsch believes that if teachers teach strong subject matter, their students will do well on the reading tests. But he sees the downside of tying test scores to salary and jobs.

He writes:

“The first thing I’d want to do if I were younger would be to launch an effective court challenge to value-added teacher evaluations on the basis of test scores in reading comprehension. The value-added approach to teacher evaluation in reading is unsound both technically and in its curriculum-narrowing effects. The connection between job ratings and tests in ELA has been a disaster for education.”

He is right. Will the so-called reformers who recently became Hirschians listen?

Categories Common Core, Curriculum, Teacher Evaluations, Testing

Goldenberg Enters the Blogosphere Blasting Common Core

By dianeravitch
August 29, 2013 //
20

Michael Paul Goldenberg, a frequent commenter here, has entered the blogosphere on his own by writing for the Chalkface, a site for lively and controversial opinion.

In his first entry, he questions the logic of introducing the Common Core to all grades simultaneously. Doing so, he cogently argues, defeats the purpose of assuring coherence and continuity across the nation.. The child in fifth grade will never be exposed to what was taught in fourth grade.

A sensible rollout would have started in first grade only, then added a grade a year.

But hubris knows no limits.

Categories Common Core

California Parent: Common Core Tests Are Not Good

By dianeravitch
August 28, 2013 //
17

This parent says her daughter is a top student but found the Common Core tests confusing. She doesn’t have keyboarding skills. How will the district pay for the necessary technology? By increasing class size?

She writes:

“My children are enrolled in school in CA and my daughter’s 6th grade class was “chosen” to take the Common Core test. She is a GATE identified high achiever, with almost perfect CA state scores. She found the Common Core test to be confusing. She too echoed the complaints above. She has no typing experience (it is not on the test so why would they teach it) and so did not have enough time to finish the essays. She found the clicking and typing noises of others to be highly distracting. My kids go to one of the larger richer districts in Orange County and even they do not have the funds for computers for everyone. Where is this money going to come from? Oh yes, my first grader sat in a class of 29! This is a travesty.”

Categories California, Common Core, Testing

Aaron Pallas on New York’s Common Core Test Fiasco

By dianeravitch
August 28, 2013 //
14

Aaron Pallas is one of the wisest education scholars in New York, and therefore (as we New Yorkers all believe) in the world.

He consistently brings a fresh perspective to the unfolding drama and spectacle that is now U.S. education.

And he is one of the few academics willing to enter the arena and engage with current events.

That is one of the clear benefits of tenure.

In this post, Pallas says that he predicted--with uncanny accuracy–how proficiency rates would change as a result of the Common Core tests.

He also notes the incomprehensible glee with which Joel Klein and Mayor Bloomberg reacted to the news that only one in five students of color are considered “proficient” after a full decade of their policies.

As he observes, Mayor Bloomberg sees everything on his watch as good news, whether scores go up, stay the same, or go down.

Pallas writes:

Here’s the dirty little secret: no one truly understands the numbers. We are behaving as though the sorting of students into four proficiency categories based on a couple of days of tests tells us something profound about our schools, our teachers and our children. There are many links in the chain of inference that can carry us from those few days in April to claims about the health of our school system or the effectiveness of our teachers. And many of those links have yet to be scrutinized.

Does Mayor Bloomberg understand the numbers? Perhaps he’d care to share with us the percentage of children in each grade who ran out of time and didn’t attempt all of the test items, and the consequences of that for students’ scores. Or how well the pattern of students’ answers fit the complex psychometric models used to estimate a student’s proficiency. Or how precisely a child’s scale score measures his or her performance. Or how many test items had to be discarded because they didn’t work the way they were intended. Or what fraction of the Common Core standards was included on this year’s English and math tests—and what was left out.

These are just some of the factors in the production of the proficiency rates that have been the subject of so much attention. And the properties of the test are just one link in the chain.

Hmmm. When no one understands the numbers, not the Mayor who is in charge of the schools, not the scholars who study the schools, not the State Education Department, no one: What does that mean?

 

Categories Accountability, Bloomberg, Michael, Common Core, Klein, Joel, New York, New York City, Testing

How the Gates Foundation Bought and Paid for Common Core

By dianeravitch
August 28, 2013 //
51

In this astonishing post, Mercedes Schneider documents how the Gates Foundation paid for every aspect of the Common Core standards.

Gates paid to develop them; to evaluate them; to promote them. There seems to be no part of the Common Core that was not bought and paid for by Gates.

Does it matter if one very rich man decides to create national standards and call them “state-led”?

Schneider raises the essential questions;

“Can Bill Gates buy a foundational democratic institution? Will America allow it? The fate of CCSS will provide a crucial answer to those looming questions.”

Categories Common Core, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates

Can You Run a 4-Minute Mile? Why Not?

By dianeravitch
August 27, 2013 //
12

David Gamberg is superintendent of the Sourhold district in
Long Island, Néw York. He
understands something that state commissioner John King
does not. Children are different. They develop in different ways
and at different rates. They have different strengths and
weaknesses. Experienced educators know this. The standard for high
achievement in mile-long races is 4 minutes. Runners tried for
years until 1954, when Roger Bannister
broke the barrier. Now many runners have, and it is the
standard. Does that mean you are a failure if it takes you 9 or 15
minutes to run a mile? No. Should all children score “proficient”
on a test that was deliberately made so hard that only 30/35% would
“pass”? What about the kids who are gifted artists and musicians?
What about those who can fix things and are great at solving
practical problems? What about those who are English language
learners? Should they “fail”? Should they be denied a high school
diploma? Sure, it is necessary to test kids periodically to see how
they are doing, but tests should be used to help kids and teachers,
not to punish them.

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Common Core, New York, Students, Testing

Letter To Georgia Board of Education in Support of Common Core Math

By dianeravitch
August 25, 2013 //
109

I received the following letter, addressed to the Georgia School Board.

Dear Diane,

I know that you do not support the Common Core State Standards, but I also know that you are willing to consider other points of view. Pasted down below is the text of a letter I have written to the Georgia School Board as they reconsider the CCSS at the request of the governor. The letter is also posted at the Mathematics Teaching Community here:

It would be great if you would post this on your blog! Thanks, Sybilla

Dear School Board Members:

I have been teaching mathematics at the University of Georgia for over 25 years and have devoted a large part of my career to issues of K–12 mathematics education. As a mathematics teacher, I am concerned about my profession and about the mathematics learning of students in Georgia. In that capacity, I am writing with comments, which I hope you will consider as you review the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M).

The CCSS-M are the strongest K–12 mathematics standards that I know of.

At the invitation of state superintendents, I have worked on a number of states’ mathematics standards, including Georgia’s and Texas’s. No standards I know of are better than the CCSS-M.

The CCSS-M were developed very carefully with repeated cycles of feedback.

The CCSS-M were informed by previous standards, including Georgia’s, with repeated, extensive input from mathematics education experts who are recognized nationally, and with input from states. The standards were informed by the best available research, including research about mathematics learning summarized in National Research Council reports. I know this because I was an active member of the CCSS-M writing team.

Serious professions deserve standards that are developed nationally.

I think that mathematics teaching is a serious and important profession on par with medical professions, for example. We expect standards for medical practice to be developed nationally by experts based on the available research. Why would we expect something different for mathematics teaching?

The presidents of all the major national mathematical societies have expressed “strong support” for CCSS-M.

This includes the presidents of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and all the members of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences.
See

Click to access CBMS%20Support%20Statement%20for%20CCSSM.pdf

Having standards does not imply losing autonomy or creativity.

Some of the most creative contributions to art, music, and literature, occur within a framework. Mathematics itself operates within a framework and is full of brilliantly creative results. The CCSS-M allow for creativity and autonomy within a framework.

The CCSS-M need time and support to implement.

Right now, mathematics teaching and learning (at all levels) are not as strong as they should be. The CCSS-M can help us focus on where we need to go. Implementing them will require time, learning, and collective effort. Let’s use the standards we have and work together to make mathematics teaching and learning in Georgia strong and vibrant.

A copy of this letter is posted at the Mathematics Teaching Community, online at
https://mathematicsteachingcommunity.math.uga.edu
where teachers of mathematics (any level) may post comments.

Sincerely,

Sybilla Beckmann
Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics
Boyd Graduate Studies Building
200 D. W. Brooks Drive
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia 30602

sybilla@math.uga.edu
706-542-2548

http://www.math.uga.edu/~sybilla/

Categories Common Core, Georgia

Reader: How to Make a Standard That Works

By dianeravitch
August 25, 2013 //
4

This arrived as a comment on a post about the Common Core:

 

“Say I am designing a fastener for a product. I can VOLUNTARILY choose a standard fastener for less cost off the shelf. That will guarantee interchangability. I also have a certain degree of confidence as to the characteristics about the fastener in terms of strength and corrosion that the standards give me. But I also limit my design to that fastener. If I need to innovate or the standard fastener cannot fit my particular design because it is unique, then I will design my own fastener. But I must build it carefully to match my individual needs and I must test it thoroughly in prototypes before rolling into production on a large scale. I will likely have to modify the original design from my testing. Why should our MOST precious resource, our children, be afforded less concern than a nut and bolt?

When I was working in tech, a standard was rolled out called SGML. It was promising but was unwieldy, bloated, restrictive, and impractical. Companies that tried to force it into designs found failure. An innovation called XML (or HTML for that matter) spontaneously evolved from SGML that was VOLUNTARILY adopted and proved very successful. That standard was nimble, extensible, and allowed companies to use it as needed and innovate.

Common Core is lemmings going over a cliff. The standards are unproven and overly restrictive. They specify HOW teachers must teach in addition to what and when. The wide spread adoption is more political and economic than educational. The associated tests are flawed, too objective, and imprecise as a measurement tool.

Common Core should be a diagnostic standard. It is time to declare a moratorium on testing to these standards, cleanse them of politics, and require further study.”

Categories Common Core

Florida BATS Launch Attack on Common Core

By dianeravitch
August 25, 2013 //
13

Investigative Kathleen McGrory reports in the Miami Herald that Common Core has critics on the left.

This is noteworthy, because Secretary of Education Arne Duncan insists that the main criticism of Common Core comes from extremists and fringe groups like the Tea Party. He also insists that the federal Department of Education has had nothing whatever to do with the Common Core standards; after all it is illegal for the federal Department of Education to interfere in curriculum or instruction. Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much. Everyone knows that 45 states would not have endorsed the Common Core standards without the lure of $4.35 billion in federal Race to the Top dollars, offered as an incentive for those who signed on to standards they may never have seen.

McGrory discovered critics of Common Core on the left, and lo and behold, they are teachers.

To be specific, they are the Badass Teachers Association.

McGrory writes:

The 25,000 BATs, as they call themselves, are pushing back against the national standards with Twitter strikes, town hall meetings and snarky Internet memes. They have no qualms with the theory behind the new benchmarks, but they fear the larger movement places too much emphasis on testing and will stifle creativity in the classroom.

“It’s not just the Tea Party that’s skeptical of the Common Core,” said Bonnie Cunard, a Fort Myers teacher who manages the Facebook page for the 1,200 Florida BATs. “We on the left, like the folks on the right, are saying we want local control.”

The BATs represent a new wave of liberal opposition to the Common Core standards, which includes some union leaders, progressive activists and Democratic lawmakers. They are joining forces with Tea Party groups and libertarians, who want states like Florida to slow down efforts to adopt the new benchmarks and corresponding tests.

They face an uphill battle. The Common Core standards have a strong base of support that includes both Democrats and Republicans. What’s more, the standards are already being taught across all grade levels in Florida.

It’s not only the BATs.

“The sand is shifting for us on Common Core,” said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association.

Ford fears teachers weren’t adequately prepared for the transition to the new standards, even though they will be evaluated — and in some cases, compensated — based on how well their students perform.

For Susan Smith, who heads the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida, the greatest concern is the testing that will accompany the new benchmarks.

“We shouldn’t be revamping our education standards without first considering if we are overtesting our kids,” Smith said. “That’s putting the cart before the horse.”

The Wall Street hedge fund managers’ group Democrats for Education Reform loves the Common Core and the disruptive effects of the testing that comes with it.

So does the Obama administration, and so do many teachers and parents who hope it will help their schools.

But so does Florida’s Republican legislature, which leaves no stone unturned when it comes to looking for ways to privatize public schools and demoralize classroom teachers.

But the opposition is strong enough that state Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, is calling for a review before Florida moves further ahead with the standards and accompanying exams.

“I get what the intention was with Common Core,” said Bullard, a Miami Democrat and teacher. “But it got lost in the shuffle with all of the other education reform policies. Now, you might as well scrap the whole idea.”

Categories Common Core, Florida
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