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It's not about the students being ready. They needed to establish a baseline to measure how students performed before the new standards and curriculum were implemented. They can't really have a control group where they hold out one classroom per grade per school.
For instance, if you send your kid to an SAT prep course, they take a practice test at the beginning for baseline and diagnostic purposes. Then they know what each student needs to work on and they assign work accordingly. At the end they take another practice test before taking the actual test to show how much their score has improved.
How else would you measure the efficacy of the new curriculum and standards?
True in theory, however not really true in practice. These test results are being used for high stakes decisions across the state for both the teachers and the students in grades 3 - 8. The roll out for the HS common core would seem to be more along the lines of what you are saying. NYS is offering both the 'old' and new common core math regents this year. That is a more logical way to still measure growth and obtain baseline data. In NYC, my students will have their HS admittance determined by last year's 'control group'.
I agree with the idea of common core, however the way 'the powers that be' (who have little to no educational experience, either as a public school teacher or parent) have chosen to roll it out makes me believe this will be a very difficult few years for all of us, especially the children.
It's not about the students being ready. They needed to establish a baseline to measure how students performed before the new standards and curriculum were implemented. They can't really have a control group where they hold out one classroom per grade per school.
For instance, if you send your kid to an SAT prep course, they take a practice test at the beginning for baseline and diagnostic purposes. Then they know what each student needs to work on and they assign work accordingly. At the end they take another practice test before taking the actual test to show how much their score has improved.
How else would you measure the efficacy of the new curriculum and standards?
Since many students did not do well on the new core curriculum- based state exams at the end of last year was anything learned about the efficacy of the new curriculum and standards? I am not sure about that work 'efficacy'.
You may be confusing those exams with the pre and post course exams my daughters took at school that purportedly measured their individual growth in particular subjects. Those might measure instructional, parental, or student study strategy efficacy on a limited basis - but not curricular efficacy.
In some cases there was an overlap wherein the pre-test was locally produced and the post-test was state produced.
In some rare cases the students were taught based on the core curriculum and were then tested on material addresed in the core curriculum. In most cases the wires were hopelessly crossed by the State Education Department.
My daughter's math class learned the Regents Curriculum and their Regents exam was based on the curriculum taught. But the state also imposed a core curriculum- based state exam on the same students. The kids did not do so well on that particular state exam. Not a surprise. And, of course, there was a pretest given at the start of the year that was compared to either the results of the Regents or the results of the other state math exam somehow related to a small part of the annual evaluation of the teacher and principal. Obviously the double-testing on two different curricula was the result of the botched state method of rushing in one curriculum while still mandating the teaching of another.
In some ways the core curriculum has been mishmashed with attempts to measure growth resulting in the curriculum being blamed for the crazy number of high and low stakes tests and the tests being blamed for the new core curriculum. Further mishmash has ensued with the attempts to score teachers and principals partially based on the 'growth' demonstrated by students either within the school year (on pre and post tests) or from year to year (on the standardized state exams).
Finally, my understanding is that the professionals involved with teaching children (teachers and principals) were not involved with the development or NY adoption of the core curriculum. Further, those with the most at state, the parents, were not included either. A blind person could see the State Education Department's mismanagement of the new curriculum has been woefully ineffective. Since much of the new curriculum itself and accompanying testing is nonsense there has been massive pushback on a number of fronts.
Last edited by Quick Commenter; 10-20-2013 at 04:15 AM..
"Core curriculum" "standardized testing" blah blah blah...... All bullcrap if you ask me. Why can't they just TEACH THE KIDS WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW???!?!??!?!?!!
Rather than go by some ridiculous "core curriculum" or to some "standardized test" made up by a room full of clods with no clue, let the teachers TEACH.
One of my biggest regrets in life is not home schooling my child. She would have gotten a much better education than any school could have given her.
Aren't kids being accepted to good colleges mostly based on their grades as it was? What about SAT preparation? It's all teaching to the tests as you progress in years in my opinion. I know people feel common core is a money grab, but I'm not understanding the huge shift in what teachers have to do now as opposed to before...? Is this a much ado about nothing situation based on the significant failure rate we're seeing from the unprepared - a number sure to decline?
There are teachers asking parents to consider opting out but wouldn't that take our kids out of the pool if colleges are looking at grades? What do you do if not for standardized tests?
Aren't kids being accepted to good colleges mostly based on their grades as it was? What about SAT preparation? It's all teaching to the tests as you progress in years in my opinion. I know people feel common core is a money grab, but I'm not understanding the huge shift in what teachers have to do now as opposed to before...? Is this a much ado about nothing situation based on the significant failure rate we're seeing from the unprepared - a number sure to decline?
There are teachers asking parents to consider opting out but wouldn't that take our kids out of the pool if colleges are looking at grades? What do you do if not for standardized tests?
Colleges aren't looking at what kids get on state tests. Wouldn't that be a little difficult for them, to parse the test scores from every state, how the tests are graded, etc etc? Teachers are in an uproar because historically those state tests have been a measure of how teachers are doing ("so-and-so's students always do the best on the tests")....now with teacher evaluations, the stakes are even higher. They haven't been able to teach to the test because they haven't known what's going to be on the test. They haven't been able to give old tests as practice, there aren't any old tests.
The SAT is a nationwide test, the same no matter where you take it. And you are correct, of course you can prepare for that (just like using the good ole Barron's books to prepare for the Regents exam)....as my nephew said, take the SAT prep tests often enough and you see the same questions over and over again. However even the SAT has issues. Who has more money for SAT prep, a kid from Garden City or a kid from Hempstead?
The Common Core is different because it is asking kids to explain why and how they arrive at their answers. it's not enough to say "I know 9x9=81" you have to explain how you know this.
And the fact remains, the curriculum is simply harder than it was and many kids, even really smart kids, can't keep up. Graphing calculators in 6th grade, give me a break!
I work in an elementary school, as a teacher asst. and update our website. I also had 3 children go through all grades & graduate from this district. I got permission to put up a page about the Common Core curriculum to help clear things up. Here is what I put up. It was copied and modified to make it a little easier to understand & the principal approved it.
What Are Common Core Standards And How Do They Apply to Your Child?
Currently, each state has a separate set of education standards which are lists of skills that students are expected to accomplish by the time they graduate from each grade.
In order to prepare students for college and careers, education leaders in 48 states, along with the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), have written a set of educational standards that American students must meet. They are called common core state standards and were released in 2010. New York State is one of the states that has implemented the common core standards.
Here is what you should know about them and how you can help your child prepare for the common core: The Common Core Standards are State-Driven
The common core state standards are a set of learning skills that all American students should achieve. It is not a federal curriculum. They set the benchmarks and guidelines for what each student should learn, not how or what teachers teach.
The Standards are a Progression
In general, the standards set a progression of skills that students learn as they move through school. Kindergarteners work on phonics and letter sounds, while eighth graders work on building vocabulary and reading fluency.
Students will Delve Deeper into Core Concepts
One complaint about separate state standards was the concern from teachers that students were learning about too many topics in a year to fully understand them, says Carrie Phillip, CCSSO program director of common core standards implementation. The common core state standards, on the other hand, focus on the most important topics that students need to know. In math, that means that students focus on really understanding numbers in elementary school before they start to apply that understanding of numbers to data in middle school.
The Reading Standards will Get More Difficult
As the common core is implemented, students will be expected to read more difficult text sooner and discuss what they read at a more complex level. For example, instead of pulling out individual text elements, such as characters, plot, and setting, students will be reading or listening to various stories, and will compare stories using their understanding of text elements.
Focus on Informational Text
To prepare students for college-level work, there will be more of a focus on informational and expository text. In middle school especially, students will be reading informational text, including original documents, from the Declaration of Independence to presidential speeches.
Helpful Definitions: [these were my idea as I had no clue what they were talking about] Informational Text: any type of nonfiction that gives the reader information (facts) about a particular subject. Expository Text: The main purpose of expository text is to inform or describe. Authors who write expository texts research the topic to gain information. The information is organized in a logical and interesting manner using various expository text structures. The most common expository text structures include description, listing, sequence, comparison and contrast, cause and effect and problem and solution.
Assessments Will Change
Compared to current and past achievement tests, common core assessments will likely be more difficult. Ideally, instead of multiple choice tests, students will be analyzing and synthesizing information, writing essay responses, and answering in-depth questions to show how much they understand.
Helpful definition: Synthesizing information is closely connected to determining importance. After a reader identifies what is important in the text, he/she must go through the process of organizing, recalling, and recreating the information and fitting it in with what is already known. The reader then summarizes what has happened and gives their response personal meaning.
Focus on Practical Skills
The common core standards were designed with the workplace in mind. So, students will be working on taking the role of scientists, historians, researchers, and more. For example, Bill McCallum, co-author of the standards and professor at the University of Arizona, said that the standards “describe what mathematical practitioners do, how they make sense of problems, persevere and solve them, and then critique the reasoning of others.”
As the common core state standards continue to be implemented in our schools, there will be some changes, but many things will stay the same. The most important aspect is, as always, to stay in contact with your child’s teacher to find out how you can support this latest educational advancement at home.
Last edited by primeline31; 10-20-2013 at 09:29 PM..
Reason: to remove formatting text that appeared somehow.
VERMILLION PARISH, La. – Under the new, “more rigorous” national Common Core standards, students are learning a lot of things they may not have learned before...
...Fourth graders in Vermillion Parish, Louisiana, for instance, learned just last week what pimps and “mobstaz” are in their new Common Core-aligned classroom assignments.
...parent Brittney Badeaux told Fox News. “...And now my son wants to know what a pimp is.”
The class assignment consisted of a worksheet with different examples and takes on the word “twist.” There’s a paragraph on the dancing the twist, tornados … and the rapper “Twista.”
“In 1997, after appearing on Do or Die’s hit ‘Po Pimp,’ Twista was signed to Atlantic Records. Under that label he released ‘Adrenaline Rush’ and formed the group Speedknot Mobstaz in 1998,” the lesson explains.
“It was really inappropriate for my child,” Badeaux told Fox News. “He doesn’t know what a pimp or mobster is.”
“I try to teach him morals and respect and to speak correctly,” she added. “It’s hard for a fourth grader to understand Ebonics when you’re trying to teach him how to spell and write correctly.”
School officials told the news site the lesson was considered age appropriate according to the new national Common Core standards. It’s aligned to fourth grade English standards.
Vermillion Parish Superintendent Jerome Payau said the “Po-Pimp” worksheet is designed to encourage discussion of “real world texts.”
Encouraging discussions of 'real world texts'? Has anyone looked up the lyrics to the "real world text" known as Still Po Pimping? Or was it a lame attempt to try and appeal to inner city children by a bunch of white people who didn't take a minute to read the lyrics? I'm sharing a link to the lyrics because some of the words the CD filter would block like the 'N' word, MotherF, etc.; language aside, the situations -- sex, drugs, drinking, making money illegally -- is all that really appropriate for children in the 4th grade? Do Or Die - Still Po Pimpin' Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Quote:
...a parent in the Sierra Vista, Arizona school district raised concerns about an erotic novel assigned as a Common Core-aligned 10th grade literature book.
The parent was particularly upset with passages from page 80 of Dreaming in Cuban, by Christina Garcia:
“Hugo and Felicia stripped in their room, dissolving easily into one another, and made love against the whitewashed walls. Hugo bit Felicia’s breast and left purplish bands of bruises on her upper thighs. He knelt before her in the tub and massaged black Spanish soap between her legs. He entered her repeatedly from behind.
“Felicia learned what pleased him. She tied his arms above his head with their underclothing and slapping him sharply when he asked.
“‘You’re my *****,’” Hugo said, groaning.
School officials eventually pulled the book, but we’re convinced there’s likely countless other examples of inappropriate Common Core-approved content in districts across the country.
Dreaming in Cuban is on the Common Core exemplar list as it falls under the category of diversity. It tells the story of a Cuban family's immigration to the USA and the struggle to maintain their Cuban identity. Are there any other books out there which also relay the angst felt by new immigrants as they assimilate in a new country without including a passage out of "Dear Penthouse" letter? I'm sorry, but I am not comfortable with a bunch of 14 & 15 year-old boys and girls reading something titillating of this nature.
Perhaps Andrew Marvel's seduction poem, 'To His Coy Mistress' was ribald for its time, but it made people think, and perhaps blush.
A snippet which might align with the 'Cuban' passage above:
Quote:
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapt power.
Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Through the iron gates of life:
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
The geniuses behind the CC want children to deconstruct math, but won't challenge them into deconstructing literature to get to the true meaning. Instead, they will spoon fed them pre-chewed, base, spoiled mush.
Encouraging discussions of 'real world texts'? Has anyone looked up the lyrics to the "real world text" known as Still Po Pimping? Or was it a lame attempt to try and appeal to inner city children by a bunch of white people who didn't take a minute to read the lyrics? I'm sharing a link to the lyrics because some of the words the CD filter would block like the 'N' word, MotherF, etc.; language aside, the situations -- sex, drugs, drinking, making money illegally -- is all that really appropriate for children in the 4th grade? Do Or Die - Still Po Pimpin' Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Dreaming in Cuban is on the Common Core exemplar list as it falls under the category of diversity. It tells the story of a Cuban family's immigration to the USA and the struggle to maintain their Cuban identity. Are there any other books out there which also relay the angst felt by new immigrants as they assimilate in a new country without including a passage out of "Dear Penthouse" letter? I'm sorry, but I am not comfortable with a bunch of 14 & 15 year-old boys and girls reading something titillating of this nature.
Perhaps Andrew Marvel's seduction poem, 'To His Coy Mistress' was ribald for its time, but it made people think, and perhaps blush.
A snippet which might align with the 'Cuban' passage above:
The geniuses behind the CC want children to deconstruct math, but won't challenge them into deconstructing literature to get to the true meaning. Instead, they will spoon fed them pre-chewed, base, spoiled mush.
How is this applicable to New York?
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