Common Core's epic fail: Special Education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/abetteriowa/2014/11/26/common-core-early-childhood-education-testing/70113320/

And here an elementary teacher tells why Common Core is a failure:

Here's a quick quiz for you. The Common Core standards are being used to direct the curriculum of nearly every state and the education of nearly every child in the country. How many early childhood teachers were involved in the development of these standards?

If you said zero, you win the prize. Unbelievable, isn't it? We are teaching our littlest children using parameters put in place by people with no knowledge of how our little ones learn. If you look at what is happening in K-2 classrooms then it is obvious.

The Common Core was written, not by educators, but mainly by people — like those who crate testing materials — with a financial interest in seeing these standards adopted. They were written and pushed as creating children who would be ready for "college, career, and life."

They were written from the top down, meaning they looked at what kids should be able to do when they leave school, then trickled down to the kindergarten level, not considering the fact that young children have very different learning needs than older children.

....

I do not understand the argument that the standards are bad because classroom teachers did not participate in the writing of the standards. It's pure argument from authority. Classroom teachers are the only ones who know "how our little ones learn", therefore if classroom teachers did not participate in the writing of the standards, then the standards must be bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/abetteriowa/2014/11/26/common-core-early-childhood-education-testing/70113320/

And here an elementary teacher tells why Common Core is a failure:

Here's a quick quiz for you. The Common Core standards are being used to direct the curriculum of nearly every state and the education of nearly every child in the country. How many early childhood teachers were involved in the development of these standards?

If you said zero, you win the prize. Unbelievable, isn't it? We are teaching our littlest children using parameters put in place by people with no knowledge of how our little ones learn. If you look at what is happening in K-2 classrooms then it is obvious.

The Common Core was written, not by educators, but mainly by people — like those who crate testing materials — with a financial interest in seeing these standards adopted. They were written and pushed as creating children who would be ready for "college, career, and life."

They were written from the top down, meaning they looked at what kids should be able to do when they leave school, then trickled down to the kindergarten level, not considering the fact that young children have very different learning needs than older children.

....

While the idea of this is correct, I do not agree when they recommend strictly play based for preschool. That is a one size fits all idea too. We tried play based and it was an epic disaster. Nothing bad but my child did not engage or play traditionally with special needs. He has thrived in structured programs that do have seated work, free play and structured social activities. I think that there needs to be a balance and reading and writing as well as basic math concepts should begin in a four or prek class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/abetteriowa/2014/11/26/common-core-early-childhood-education-testing/70113320/

And here an elementary teacher tells why Common Core is a failure:

Here's a quick quiz for you. The Common Core standards are being used to direct the curriculum of nearly every state and the education of nearly every child in the country. How many early childhood teachers were involved in the development of these standards?

If you said zero, you win the prize. Unbelievable, isn't it? We are teaching our littlest children using parameters put in place by people with no knowledge of how our little ones learn. If you look at what is happening in K-2 classrooms then it is obvious.

The Common Core was written, not by educators, but mainly by people — like those who crate testing materials — with a financial interest in seeing these standards adopted. They were written and pushed as creating children who would be ready for "college, career, and life."

They were written from the top down, meaning they looked at what kids should be able to do when they leave school, then trickled down to the kindergarten level, not considering the fact that young children have very different learning needs than older children.

....

I do not understand the argument that the standards are bad because classroom teachers did not participate in the writing of the standards. It's pure argument from authority. Classroom teachers are the only ones who know "how our little ones learn", therefore if classroom teachers did not participate in the writing of the standards, then the standards must be bad.

I do not have an issue with standards. I have an issue with how they are implemented for every child. No he main point of this topic is the impact on special needs kids who may learn differently. No one has taken the standards and modified them to make them work with the many different disabilities and delays children may be dealing with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
According to anticipated score distributions announced by the Smarter Balanced testing consortium, almost two-thirds of students taking the test next year will fall below proficiency in mathematics, while nearly six in 10 will fail to measure up in English. Defenders of the test, however, emphasize that low scores are nothing to be afraid of, and represent an increase in expectations rather than a decrease in ability.

I think that is an accurate prediction. I especially think that ESOL and Special Ed kids will fail at higher percentages. In MD in the past many kids in those subgroups could get accommodation on state testing such as "read aloud entire test". Yup. In READING. The test was read aloud to them, and the questions; and they selected the main idea etc.

I believe that on the new tests those accommodations (read aloud entire test) will not be allowed for ESOl kids. I think it will not be allowed for most kids with learning disabilities, either -- except those for whom it has been decided they will never be able to decode independently. Since reading aloud helped a lot of poor readers be able to pass the reading test, this change alone will result in more children not passing. They still have the same ability they always had (poor ability to read) but not the test result will more accurately portray their lack of ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I do not have an issue with standards. I have an issue with how they are implemented for every child. No he main point of this topic is the impact on special needs kids who may learn differently. No one has taken the standards and modified them to make them work with the many different disabilities and delays children may be dealing with.

That is correct. If you modify a standard to be different for different types of students, it is not longer a standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I do not have an issue with standards. I have an issue with how they are implemented for every child. No he main point of this topic is the impact on special needs kids who may learn differently. No one has taken the standards and modified them to make them work with the many different disabilities and delays children may be dealing with.

That is correct. If you modify a standard to be different for different types of students, it is not longer a standard.

So, basically a child like mine with receptive issues who is a smart kid in some areas is destined to fail

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are no accommodations for children in Common Core. All students are expected to be in the same place at all times. It's in total conflict with the IDEA.

Who expects all students to be in the same place at all times?

Also, of course the Common Core standards don't have accommodations. They are standards. As in, "This is what a student should be able to do by the end of second grade." How a school district gets children -- including children in special education -- to meet those standards is up to the school district. The IDEA does not apply to the Common Core standards. The IDEA applies to states.

The Common Core demands that all students be taught at grade level. And since states adopted Common Core just for the cash, now they have zero idea of how to accommodate both the federally mandated IDEA and the state-mandated Common Core (it's not federal, remember?)

It's a colossal failure for special ed students, their teachers and their schools. It puts them in a totally lose-lose situation. And it also proves Common Core was rushed in with now true thought behind it.





Common corridor a set of standards. You are talking about how it is implemented. I work in Ed policy and am very worried CC will be thrown aside because of bad implementation not because they are a bad set of standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are no accommodations for children in Common Core. All students are expected to be in the same place at all times. It's in total conflict with the IDEA.

Who expects all students to be in the same place at all times?

Also, of course the Common Core standards don't have accommodations. They are standards. As in, "This is what a student should be able to do by the end of second grade." How a school district gets children -- including children in special education -- to meet those standards is up to the school district. The IDEA does not apply to the Common Core standards. The IDEA applies to states.

The Common Core demands that all students be taught at grade level. And since states adopted Common Core just for the cash, now they have zero idea of how to accommodate both the federally mandated IDEA and the state-mandated Common Core (it's not federal, remember?)

It's a colossal failure for special ed students, their teachers and their schools. It puts them in a totally lose-lose situation. And it also proves Common Core was rushed in with now true thought behind it.





Common corridor a set of standards. You are talking about how it is implemented. I work in Ed policy and am very worried CC will be thrown aside because of bad implementation not because they are a bad set of standards.

I'm overjoyed at this thought. It deserves to go down if it's being poorly implemented. It's like saying a medicine is a wonder drug, but too bad 70 percent of the people who are taking it are dying.

You made my day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I do not have an issue with standards. I have an issue with how they are implemented for every child. No he main point of this topic is the impact on special needs kids who may learn differently. No one has taken the standards and modified them to make them work with the many different disabilities and delays children may be dealing with.

That is correct. If you modify a standard to be different for different types of students, it is not longer a standard.

So, basically a child like mine with receptive issues who is a smart kid in some areas is destined to fail

I don't know what is meant by "receptive issues" but yes, if your child has a learning disability that makes him unable to meet grade level standards, by definition he is not working at the standard and is failing to meet them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I do not have an issue with standards. I have an issue with how they are implemented for every child. No he main point of this topic is the impact on special needs kids who may learn differently. No one has taken the standards and modified them to make them work with the many different disabilities and delays children may be dealing with.

That is correct. If you modify a standard to be different for different types of students, it is not longer a standard.

So, basically a child like mine with receptive issues who is a smart kid in some areas is destined to fail

I don't know what is meant by "receptive issues" but yes, if your child has a learning disability that makes him unable to meet grade level standards, by definition he is not working at the standard and is failing to meet them.

So you have a bunch of children with learning disabilities, autism, fragile X, ect. who could be quite successful in life but because the standards are specifically designed to highlight their weaknesses and punish them for it, they are doomed to lifetime of public assistance because they won't get a high school diploma. I hope you and your special little kids like paying for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The Common Core demands that all students be taught at grade level. And since states adopted Common Core just for the cash, now they have zero idea of how to accommodate both the federally mandated IDEA and the state-mandated Common Core (it's not federal, remember?)

No, it is IDEA that mandates all students access the general education curriculum. Not Common Core. The federally mandated "IDEA" - Individuals with Disabilities Act" says that students with disabilities must be instructed in the general education curriculum. No Child Left Behind then came along and mandated testing every student (not exempting special ed kids) on grade level and said schools had to have 70% 80% 90% 95% (they keep raising the target) of students passing the grade level tests.

But states got to design their own general ed curriculum, and their own tests. So to be sure all 95% of students (including students with disabilities and ESOL students) could pass, they made the general ed curriculum pretty easy and made the tests very easy and allowed all sorts of accommodations. End result.... kids who cannot read are passing 8th grade state reading tests. And parents of kids with disabilities are saying, "How is my child passing these tests? Why won't you teach her to read?"

However, the other end result is parents of kids with learning disabilities are not being told how far behind their students really are. Their children are managing to graduate though, so as long as they get a diploma I guess it is ok.

Now the Common Core standards have come along and they are much harder than the old standards, and a lot of kids with disabilities aren't able to meet these standards anymore. Standards got harder and there is less wiggle room for teachers as there were in the older standards.... kids are actually required to learn to read! That is now an expectation. IDEA still says kids must all be taught the general education curriculum even if it isn't appropriate for a child who has a learning disability so... IDEA is what needs to be changed. Not the standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So you have a bunch of children with learning disabilities, autism, fragile X, ect. who could be quite successful in life but because the standards are specifically designed to highlight their weaknesses and punish them for it, they are doomed to lifetime of public assistance because they won't get a high school diploma. I hope you and your special little kids like paying for it.

Do you think that people who came up with the Common Core standards said, "Let's design the standards to highlight the weakness of children with learning disabilities, autism, fragile X, etc., so that we can punish them for their weaknesses and doom them to a lifetime of public assistance because they won't get a high school diploma! Yay!"

I'm sorry.

I think it's important to point out, though, that a standard is not a standard if it is flexible enough to take everybody's varied needs into account. So what you are basically arguing against is the whole idea of standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I do not have an issue with standards. I have an issue with how they are implemented for every child. No he main point of this topic is the impact on special needs kids who may learn differently. No one has taken the standards and modified them to make them work with the many different disabilities and delays children may be dealing with.

That is correct. If you modify a standard to be different for different types of students, it is not longer a standard.

So, basically a child like mine with receptive issues who is a smart kid in some areas is destined to fail

I don't know what is meant by "receptive issues" but yes, if your child has a learning disability that makes him unable to meet grade level standards, by definition he is not working at the standard and is failing to meet them.

So you have a bunch of children with learning disabilities, autism, fragile X, ect. who could be quite successful in life but because the standards are specifically designed to highlight their weaknesses and punish them for it, they are doomed to lifetime of public assistance because they won't get a high school diploma. I hope you and your special little kids like paying for it.

No, they can get a high school diploma, just not one that says they have mastered the Common Core standards, because they haven't.

But this is nothing new. Even under the old standards, students were unable to meet the standards. In New York State, students had the possibility of earning either a Regents high school diploma (they met the requirements to pass courses and state exams) or a local high school diploma (for kids who were unable to meet the requirements). A Regents high school diploma was supposed to signify that the student was prepared to do college level work without needing remediation. (I'm not sure how well it did in fact, but that's another issue).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The Common Core demands that all students be taught at grade level. And since states adopted Common Core just for the cash, now they have zero idea of how to accommodate both the federally mandated IDEA and the state-mandated Common Core (it's not federal, remember?)

No, it is IDEA that mandates all students access the general education curriculum. Not Common Core. The federally mandated "IDEA" - Individuals with Disabilities Act" says that students with disabilities must be instructed in the general education curriculum. No Child Left Behind then came along and mandated testing every student (not exempting special ed kids) on grade level and said schools had to have 70% 80% 90% 95% (they keep raising the target) of students passing the grade level tests.

But states got to design their own general ed curriculum, and their own tests. So to be sure all 95% of students (including students with disabilities and ESOL students) could pass, they made the general ed curriculum pretty easy and made the tests very easy and allowed all sorts of accommodations. End result.... kids who cannot read are passing 8th grade state reading tests. And parents of kids with disabilities are saying, "How is my child passing these tests? Why won't you teach her to read?"

However, the other end result is parents of kids with learning disabilities are not being told how far behind their students really are. Their children are managing to graduate though, so as long as they get a diploma I guess it is ok.

Now the Common Core standards have come along and they are much harder than the old standards, and a lot of kids with disabilities aren't able to meet these standards anymore. Standards got harder and there is less wiggle room for teachers as there were in the older standards.... kids are actually required to learn to read! That is now an expectation. IDEA still says kids must all be taught the general education curriculum even if it isn't appropriate for a child who has a learning disability so... IDEA is what needs to be changed. Not the standards.

You are totally uniformed about the IDEA. It requires the least restricted environment in which a child should learn, but allows for an INDIVIDUAL lesson plan. But the COMMON CORE requires that everyone know the exact thing at the same time, NO EXCEPTIONS as that dimwit Arnie Duncan has said multiple times and that the afterthought 1.5 page addendum in the Common Core Standards on special education makes clear.

What special education families need is for the IDEA to be ENFORCED.

[Anonymous]

http://www.ncld.org/blog/a-special-educator-shares-her-perspective-on-the-common-core-state-standards/

Written by Chelsea Miller

A Special Educator Shares Her Perspective on the Common Core State Standards

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) creates high expectations for student success by outlining the set of skills that students need to master at each grade level. At the end of the day, students are supposed to be equipped with critical thinking, problem solving and other career-oriented skills for college and 21st century jobs. Although the implementation of the Standards will have a big impact on students with disabilities, the authors of the Standards have provided only limited guidance in this area.

In the midst of this uncertainty, I hope to provide educators and families my perspective on how to leverage the enterprise of CCSS adoption for the benefit of students with learning disabilities (LD).

CCSS is explicit in outlining goals but ambiguous on how teachers should instruct or assess. Words like “analyze” and “identify” are frequently mentioned, but can have different meanings to individual teachers. It’s like the game of telephone – the original intent can get lost when standards are passed from the Standards writers to textbook publishers, teachers and finally students.