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Old 02-03-2014, 07:51 PM
 
Location: Grand Prairie, TX
28 posts, read 80,558 times
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We are possibly anticipating a move to Pittsburgh due husband getting a new job. We live in Denver, CO. My daughter attends a public school here. The state has adopted the "Common Core Curriculum". We are very unhappy with it. Is Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) following this also? Can you opt out?
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Old 02-03-2014, 08:37 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 107,636,560 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DesignMoxe View Post
We are possibly anticipating a move to Pittsburgh due husband getting a new job. We live in Denver, CO. My daughter attends a public school here. The state has adopted the "Common Core Curriculum". We are very unhappy with it. Is Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) following this also? Can you opt out?
I have never heard of it. What don't you like about it?

I found this map that shows all states but 5 have adopted it.

Common Core State Standards Initiative | In the States
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Old 02-03-2014, 08:48 PM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,777,749 times
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Never heard of it. Guess it is a standard for most more educated states. What are you looking for in a school system? I think that would be a more important question.
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Old 02-03-2014, 09:20 PM
 
129 posts, read 159,508 times
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The way another parent explained to us (solely her own opinion, not sure if accurate), is that many people don't like it, because it limits many students' potential.
The system is supposedly forcing the highly talented, and the below average students to an acceptable common denominator.
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Old 02-03-2014, 09:25 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 107,636,560 times
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Originally Posted by cooky01 View Post
The way another parent explained to us (solely her own opinion, not sure if accurate), is that many people don't like it, because it limits many students' potential.
The system is supposedly forcing the highly talented, and the below average students to an acceptable common denominator.
I'm glad my children graduated before this happened.

I just can't see how the highly talented kids can be held down when A/P, honors, gifted, and duel enrollment are available.
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Old 02-03-2014, 09:51 PM
 
Location: Ambridge
101 posts, read 189,965 times
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Hate to break it to you but PA just adopted Common Core Standards officially in March 2013. The majority of teachers are not a fan of it. School districts, who are already financially strapped, are having to train their teachers to the new standards and modify curriculum to teach the Standards. High school freshmen and below will have to pass the Keystone Exam in order to graduate high school. If they repeatedly fail, then they can do a project to show they know the material. Superintendents will have a small number of waivers but will most likely end up in the hands of favorites/ranking families.

In my education classes, most of my professors have made comments about Common Core Standards and not in a positive light. The best "light" I have heard was the theory of "nationally aligned standards" is good but the execution of the standards is not. The majority of the problem is the funding. Many school districts are dealing with budget cuts and staffing shortages, including teachers and paraprofessionals/teacher's assistants. If you have a classroom of 29/30 4th graders (my 10 year olds' 4th grade class) and 5 of them are gifted, 10 of them are above average, 10 are below average, and 5 are special needs, then you have 4 different levels to teach to and only so many hours in the day. Add in the fact that we all have multiple intelligences and ways we learn best. Plus that teacher is also asked to sit in on 5 IEPS, volunteer at PTA functions, bus duty, and possibly lunch duty. This all boils down to having a very frazzled teacher who does not have the material that he/she needs to properly teach the standards to her class.
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Old 02-03-2014, 09:57 PM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,777,749 times
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You seem to be wanting a very good education for your kids. Maybe it is best you look at schools that actually fit that bill. Shady Side Academy and Winchester Thurston are a couple of good schools. There are public schools that offer and score higher on SATs than Central. FC for example has higher SAT scores and it has kids from lower income in the district that bring the average down. Anyway, I think you might be surprised how good some of the districts are. Fox Chapel, Upper St. Clair, Mt Lebanon and a few others come to mind. They are better than a Central. Of course Central has a better football team if that is your primary goal.
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Old 02-03-2014, 10:17 PM
 
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Curtis, quit talking about Central. The OP never mentioned an interest in Central. You sound obsessed.

I agree with you about Shady Side and Winchester Thurston.
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Old 02-03-2014, 11:07 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 107,636,560 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cooky01 View Post
The way another parent explained to us (solely her own opinion, not sure if accurate), is that many people don't like it, because it limits many students' potential.
The system is supposedly forcing the highly talented, and the below average students to an acceptable common denominator.
I found this list of pros and cons.

Pros and Cons of the Common Core Standards - Pros and Cons of the Core Standards

The following (below) sounds like what someone was trying to explain to you. It pertains to states, not individual students. Since Pennsylvania has an excellent education system, it could be at risk of being lowered by core standards. Considering all of the pros and cons, I think the common core is a good thing. Our country's education system does suck compared to many other countries. I'm glad there will be a definitive way to compare state education systems.

The cons are typical complaints educators have with anything involving change and accountability. Since the OP is a teacher, I'm not surprised she doesn't support this, especially since one of the cons is the anticipation of many teachers leaving teaching or retiring to avoid learning the new method. It will be nice to get some new blood into the school systems.

Quote:
6.The Common Core Standards could be watered down compared to a few states who have previously adopted difficult standards. The Common Core Standards were designed as a middle ground of the current state standards meaning that while many states’ standards are raised, there are some who will come down.
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Old 02-04-2014, 04:43 AM
 
Location: On the Chesapeake
44,916 posts, read 59,916,725 times
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Without going into a whole lot of detail, adopting Common Core was the price states had to pay to avoid the penalties for not meeting No Child Left Behind targets. It came with what we in education call a ****load of money. NCLB has now been replaced by Race To The Top which incorporates Common Core and Charlotte Danielson's theories on education, primarily Framework for Teaching. While Danielson didn't mean for it to happen FfT is now being used to evaluate teachers in many states who are teaching Common Core concepts while giving mandated tests based on the old NCLB standards, which don't align with each other.

PA school systems are really independent compared to a lot of states so you may or may not see a whole lot of change as long as the kids pass the Keystone Exams at or near the target.

Common Core will not do much except enrich companies like Pearson Education and Microsoft since a lot of emphasis is placed on computerized testing, especially since something called PARCC is involved which assesses career readiness at various levels. All the tests are supposed to be given at the same time to every student in every school on computers. Very few schools have computers for everyone.

Common Core will be around for a few years until it's replaced by something else. Even so I'm glad I'm at the end of my career and not the beginning.
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