Why are people so upset about Common Core?

[Anonymous]

Cherry pick one thing, present it in such a way that it appears ridiculous, and then paint all the rest with "it's untestable and ridiculous".

Have you ever administered a test to young children when the questions are stupid? It is sad. Nobody likes to be frustrated. Why set up a six or seven year old for failure?

[Anonymous]

And where is there proof that Common Core is any damn good at all? Talk about cherry picking your facts. It's making our children guinea pigs, and bringing in a fortune for testing companies.

[Anonymous]

And where is there proof that Common Core is any damn good at all? Talk about cherry picking your facts. It's making our children guinea pigs, and bringing in a fortune for testing companies.

+++++

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ The reason (some) people are up in arms is because the right wing has randomly, arbitrarily and capriciously taken it up as the latest whipping boy, presuming to paint "Arnie" and by extension Obama with some notion of horrific disaster just because it's a change "on his watch" - yet the reality of it is that this was not a FEDERAL initiative. It was a STATE initiative. The feds made some money available to support schools while they tried to switch, but beyond that it was never the feds dictating content, orchestrating some grand design or anything else. But that's what deranged, paranoid conservatives do these days - they see black helicopters and death panels lurking behind every corner. Nice try, but no cigar - and the sane and rational among us are just rolling our eyes at your hysteria.

I didn't read the whole thread, but I want to note that I am not thrilled with Common Core, and I am not a right-wing crazy looking to bash Obama.

I don't like standardized education, but I do think Common Core will help the kids on the bottom. For the smarter kids, it holds them back, as do all the standardized curriculums I have encountered.

My child is very unhappy with Common Core because of the emphasis on writing. Our school implemented it in 4th grade, and my son had not done much writing before then (bad school!), so the huge writing requirements of CC have been daunting to him.

They probably should have rolled it out, starting with K, but that's not how schools do things! Not our school.

Long term, it won't matter for my kid, since he's smart and will figure it out. I think CC is better than what preceded it, but as always with any one-size-fits-all education there are problems. If only we could go back to the age of 1:1 tutoring! Education tailored to the needs of the individual child!

How is it bad for your kid to learn how to write? Seems like a fairly basic skill that most kids should be learning in elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a 3rd grader who took the PARCC reading test as part of the pilot. She did not think it was impossibly hard. She said each part took a little over an hour and there was a lot of typing. However, she said what the test was asking for was similar to the writing that they had been working on for the past two years in reading -- citing specific examples to support a position from more than one text. I think the its too hard hype may be overblown.

If your child is a strong student, it would make sense that she would do well. About 30 percent of the student body will pass.


70 percent of the white student body will fail this test, and up to 95 percent of black, Hispanic and special needs students will fail.

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a 3rd grader who took the PARCC reading test as part of the pilot. She did not think it was impossibly hard. She said each part took a little over an hour and there was a lot of typing. However, she said what the test was asking for was similar to the writing that they had been working on for the past two years in reading -- citing specific examples to support a position from more than one text. I think the its too hard hype may be overblown.

If your child is a strong student, it would make sense that she would do well. About 30 percent of the student body will pass.


70 percent of the white student body will fail this test, and up to 95 percent of black, Hispanic and special needs students will fail.

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

Because that is what has happened in every state that rolled out Common Core, then tested their kids on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ The reason (some) people are up in arms is because the right wing has randomly, arbitrarily and capriciously taken it up as the latest whipping boy, presuming to paint "Arnie" and by extension Obama with some notion of horrific disaster just because it's a change "on his watch" - yet the reality of it is that this was not a FEDERAL initiative. It was a STATE initiative. The feds made some money available to support schools while they tried to switch, but beyond that it was never the feds dictating content, orchestrating some grand design or anything else. But that's what deranged, paranoid conservatives do these days - they see black helicopters and death panels lurking behind every corner. Nice try, but no cigar - and the sane and rational among us are just rolling our eyes at your hysteria.

I didn't read the whole thread, but I want to note that I am not thrilled with Common Core, and I am not a right-wing crazy looking to bash Obama.

I don't like standardized education, but I do think Common Core will help the kids on the bottom. For the smarter kids, it holds them back, as do all the standardized curriculums I have encountered.

My child is very unhappy with Common Core because of the emphasis on writing. Our school implemented it in 4th grade, and my son had not done much writing before then (bad school!), so the huge writing requirements of CC have been daunting to him.

They probably should have rolled it out, starting with K, but that's not how schools do things! Not our school.

Long term, it won't matter for my kid, since he's smart and will figure it out. I think CC is better than what preceded it, but as always with any one-size-fits-all education there are problems. If only we could go back to the age of 1:1 tutoring! Education tailored to the needs of the individual child!

How is it bad for your kid to learn how to write? Seems like a fairly basic skill that most kids should be learning in elementary school.

It's not bad, but if your child has dysgraphia or any learning disability around writing, all of a sudden, every part of the curriculum is cut off for them. Common Core makes no allowances for those with disabilities.

[Anonymous]

How is it bad for your kid to learn how to write? Seems like a fairly basic skill that most kids should be learning in elementary school.

Gee. Kids can't learn to write without Common Core? Are you serious?

[Anonymous]

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

And, how can our government be putting so much money into a program that has not gone beyond the pilot stage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a 3rd grader who took the PARCC reading test as part of the pilot. She did not think it was impossibly hard. She said each part took a little over an hour and there was a lot of typing. However, she said what the test was asking for was similar to the writing that they had been working on for the past two years in reading -- citing specific examples to support a position from more than one text. I think the its too hard hype may be overblown.

If your child is a strong student, it would make sense that she would do well. About 30 percent of the student body will pass.


70 percent of the white student body will fail this test, and up to 95 percent of black, Hispanic and special needs students will fail.

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

Because that is what has happened in every state that rolled out Common Core, then tested their kids on it.

Again, there is no common core test yet, next year is the first year that it is being given "for real, " this year it is being given in pilot form, so they gauge things like usability, difficulty, etc. . . Moreover, the pilot occurred over the last month, so really unsure where you are getting these "statistics" from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

And, how can our government be putting so much money into a program that has not gone beyond the pilot stage?

The standardized test is in "pilot" form which is why it does not count this year and students aren't getting individualized scores. That is not the same as the program being in pilot. Every district can implement the standards however they want so there isn't any national program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

How is it bad for your kid to learn how to write? Seems like a fairly basic skill that most kids should be learning in elementary school.

Gee. Kids can't learn to write without Common Core? Are you serious?

Well, apparently you can't read. PP said she didn't like common core because her kid (in fourth grade) hadn't had to write a lot until his district implemented the common core. She said that as a complaint.

[Anonymous]

The standardized test is in "pilot" form which is why it does not count this year and students aren't getting individualized scores. That is not the same as the program being in pilot. Every district can implement the standards however they want so there isn't any national program.

Well, maybe that is why so many states are deciding to drop it. It is just not ready for prime time.

[Anonymous]

Talking about "no pilots" is a bit ridiculous, as are the gross exaggerations and mischaracterizations flying around here.

98% of Common Core is stuff that most schools have already been doing for a decade or more. Common Core is a STATE initiative, many states have already had it in place for years.

[Anonymous]

Common Core is a STATE initiative

That means it can't be criticized?