Anyone Have School Age Kids? Question for Ya. (homes, elementary school)

[Squidley]

Common Core. Did you come from an area that had it, if so was it the same for your children, or is Idaho's more aptitude based, or do they teach how to pass tests all day?

Thanks

[LionFamily]

We moved pre-Common Core and only put the cub into public school for about a minute (well, almost a semester.) The elementary school she briefly attended (#34 in the nation, doncha know) DEFINITELY taught to the test. PM me if you have more specific questions.

[sunflowersinthegarden]

They teach to the test. My husband is a public school teacher, and for the first half of the year he was just trying to TEACH, using the textbooks provided and almost 10 years of teaching experience. His students scored about 5-10% lower on the mid-year exam than with the previous year's teacher. He learned that he wasn't teaching to the test enough, and basically that's all that matters.

[Squidley]

Bummer. I was hoping it was more like Hawaii. They do test, but like most things, they are on Hawaiian time, so they actually teach the kids.

We had some aggressive parents move over to the island from So-cal. They were infuriated that the scores were so low. So much they created a stink with the local school boards and guess what... they got there way and the teachers had to teach to pass the test not teach to be a good student. Some teachers are holdouts and we got very lucky and had them for both kiddos.

Thanks for the info.

[aisling123]

But the good news is that idaho is very homeschooling supportive!

[LionFamily]

Originally Posted by aisling123

But the good news is that idaho is very homeschooling supportive!

True.

[Sandpointian]

The research effort behind Common Core was well intentioned. But it soon became a mandate and then policy. Once in those forms, it has become embalmed and incapable of wholesale modification. Also, intertwined within Common Core, particularly with the humanities and liberal arts, are all sorts of politics which ultimately take the form of shoving agenda down throats. Finally, for those used to customized approaches to schooling, especially with higher level courses, the CC curricula in the wrong hands may be institutionalized mediocrity.

S.