Why are people so upset about Common Core?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't like Common core, but this mess about the holocaust denial has nothing to do with it.

When a district states the paper was to meet common core standards, you have an issue. Clearly, the district didn't understand Common Core. Why is that?

I once had a kindergartener take a marker and write FUK and DAM on the bathroom walls. His behavior demonstrated mastery of the following Common Core standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.A
Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.C
Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.D
Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

That doesn't mean that the behavior was OK or that the standards are bad. It simply means that it's a teacher's job to teach their students when and how to apply their skills.

A student who can read papers by holocaust deniers and historians, decide which one they agree with, and write an essay explaining their argument while citing specific evidence from that text, is in fact demonstrating mastery of the CCSS. So, in that sense that district is right. This assignment does meet the CCSS. That doesn't make it in any way appropriate. There are, after all, many other topics a student can write about to demonstrate mastery of the same standard, just as there are many other words and surfaces my kindergarten could have used to demonstrate his prowess at spelling and handwriting.

They were given 3 reference books - all supported the hoax theory

And your point is.....?

[Anonymous]

Different poster: If this is true, it just proves how much influence schools can have on education. If the kids cannot tell propaganda from truth, it might be because of the materials presented.

[Anonymous]

The main point, however, is that THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING. There are ALREADY teacher evaluation systems with a student test score component. So if teacher evaluation systems with a student test score components lead to these awful results you're predicting, we should ALREADY be seeing them. Are we?

Teachers in Houston are suing over this. There are not that many systems that currently tie that much to the testing. However, with Common Core, there will be 50% of teacher's evaluation. Bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The main point, however, is that THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING. There are ALREADY teacher evaluation systems with a student test score component. So if teacher evaluation systems with a student test score components lead to these awful results you're predicting, we should ALREADY be seeing them. Are we?

Teachers in Houston are suing over this. There are not that many systems that currently tie that much to the testing. However, with Common Core, there will be 50% of teacher's evaluation. Bad idea.

Teachers in Houston are suing over what, specifically?

And how do you know that states that have adopted the Common Core standards will base 50% (not 45%, not 55%) of the teachers' evaluations on student test scores?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different poster: If this is true, it just proves how much influence schools can have on education. If the kids cannot tell propaganda from truth, it might be because of the materials presented.

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

[Anonymous]

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

That is why it needs to be at the local level where parents can control it.

[Anonymous]

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/01/houston-teachers-sue-over-student-test-based-evalu/

Here's a start on testing and teacher evaluation. There are lots of systems that are doing this. It is tied to Common Core. Do a google on teacher evaluation and student testing. It is going on in many places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

That is why it needs to be at the local level where parents can control it.

Good news! It is!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The main point, however, is that THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING. There are ALREADY teacher evaluation systems with a student test score component. So if teacher evaluation systems with a student test score components lead to these awful results you're predicting, we should ALREADY be seeing them. Are we?

Teachers in Houston are suing over this. There are not that many systems that currently tie that much to the testing. However, with Common Core, there will be 50% of teacher's evaluation. Bad idea.

But I thought Texas hadn't adopted Common Core standards? Have they joined now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The main point, however, is that THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING. There are ALREADY teacher evaluation systems with a student test score component. So if teacher evaluation systems with a student test score components lead to these awful results you're predicting, we should ALREADY be seeing them. Are we?

Teachers in Houston are suing over this. There are not that many systems that currently tie that much to the testing. However, with Common Core, there will be 50% of teacher's evaluation. Bad idea.

But I thought Texas hadn't adopted Common Core standards? Have they joined now?

Silly PP! Haven't you figured out that everything bad in education is due to the Common Core? Even in states that didn't adopt the Common Core! And even if it happened before the Common Core! The malign tentacles of the Common Core reach throughout space and time!

[Anonymous]

I don't believe that there is as much wrong with the Common Core Standards, as there is something very wrong with the way the standards are being implemented, the push for data gathering, and the way the standards are driving the curriculum choices. I often hear the argument that Common Core is not a curriculum, it is a set of standards--however by default the current curriculum choices available to school districts in states who have chosen Common Core, all have to align with the Common Core Standards . Few publishers, whether they offer a solid educational product or not, can meet these very specific criteria. In addition, the states who have not adopted Common Core in name, have virtually adopted it anyhow due to their use of the Common Core aligned books.

With all that said, even though the problem is more with the implementation than the standards themselves, that doesn't mean that the standards are not also fraught with issues and problems. There seems to be a focus on non fiction texts to the detriment of learning classic literature and fictional works. Not only that, but many critics point out the lack of math preparation in the upper grades. It's all fine and well if your child happens to be in a gifted program, or in certain advanced classes, but if in general most kids won't be taking the proper math courses in general education they will be fully unprepared for careers that require upper level math. It really angers me that my child's math work and tests consist of question after question asking him to explain why he got a certain answer. The process of explaining how he knows something becomes meaningless after the first couple of times he demonstrated the concept, and sucks the joy out of mathematics for him. There is something to be gained from showing students different ways to approach a problem, but not making them do it over and over again if they have already mastered the concept. This is just one example of what has gone wrong with the standard driven curricula,and we all have our own biases. Also, in different grades or at different local schools kids might be doing different things. However, I have heard this particular complaint over and over, and I do think it is valid.

Also, common core has rolled in virtually hand in hand with increased standardized testing. While there has been too much emphasis on standardized testing in the past, it has really gotten out of hand. Students should be learning to enjoy the process of learning, to be developing skills over time and learning a new skill once they have mastered a particular content area. We should be more focused on teaching children, and making sure they learn a great deal, than we should on which method of testing we are going to use to measure their success. Districts keep spending money on all the standardized tests....and changing textbooks(virtual texts that is!) when we never needed new textbooks. We really needed less kids in a class and less teaching to the test.

I'll just share that my child, in second grade hasn't learned anything new in math that he didn't learn the year prior, at home. After experiencing one of the top school districts in the nation, I've decided that the problem isn't the particular school, but the brokenness of the entire system currently. Again, my bias. I will be pulling him out (along with some other parents) to start a private learning cooperative/homeschool hybrid in the Fall. Does that mean that his new classroom won't use any books/curricula that might be aligned to the Common Core? No, it certainly doesn't. But my child will actually be able to learn mathematics algorithms,and move on once he has mastered them. He won't be forced to sit and explain why 12 + 5 is 17 over and over again. That is certain and we will be very careful what books we choose, and how we implement them. And my child won't spend months out of the year learning factoids for a standardized test. He'll actually be learning to love learning. He'll be playing outside several times a day (he's 8, for goodness sakes!) going on numerous educational experiences, and receiving a rigorous education to boot. There is something seriously wrong with the public schools nationwide. A lot of the private schools are starting to implement Common Core, too. I highly recommend that everyone do more research on Common Core. Or, just research in general on the state of public education today. This is not a "political" issue as the media would have you think. The parents who are coming together to start a new learning co-op are diverse in political affiliations.

[Anonymous]

It really angers me that my child's math work and tests consist of question after question asking him to explain why he got a certain answer. The process of explaining how he knows something becomes meaningless after the first couple of times he demonstrated the concept, and sucks the joy out of mathematics for him. There is something to be gained from showing students different ways to approach a problem, but not making them do it over and over again if they have already mastered the concept. This is just one example of what has gone wrong with the standard driven curricula,and we all have our own biases. Also, in different grades or at different local schools kids might be doing different things. However, I have heard this particular complaint over and over, and I do think it is valid.

Also, common core has rolled in virtually hand in hand with increased standardized testing. While there has been too much emphasis on standardized testing in the past, it has really gotten out of hand. Students should be learning to enjoy the process of learning, to be developing skills over time and learning a new skill once they have mastered a particular content area. We should be more focused on teaching children, and making sure they learn a great deal, than we should on which method of testing we are going to use to measure their success. Districts keep spending money on all the standardized tests....and changing textbooks(virtual texts that is!) when we never needed new textbooks. We really needed less kids in a class and less teaching to the test.

Great summary.

[Anonymous]

And much more informative than follow-the-money-while-being-on-the-lookout-for-devilish-details.

[Anonymous]

And much more informative than follow-the-money-while-being-on-the-lookout-for-devilish-details

You do know that is what causes the problems? All the devilish details? Which might not be there were it not for all the money to be made?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/01/houston-teachers-sue-over-student-test-based-evalu/

Here's a start on testing and teacher evaluation. There are lots of systems that are doing this. It is tied to Common Core. Do a google on teacher evaluation and student testing. It is going on in many places.

It is not tied to Common Core State Standards. Texas has not adopted Common Core state standards; they are using their own, Texas standards.

It IS linked to No Child Left Behind, and to funding from the federal government towards public education.

NCLB is different from Common Core state standards.