Teachers, parents souring on Common Core across U.S.

[Anonymous]

Correct. Some of the professionals believe that the standards are too easy. And some of the professionals believe that the standards are too difficult. Which suggests that the standards are probably just right.

LOL! The standards were not vetted. The tests and materials developed to go with them are a mess. Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Correct. Some of the professionals believe that the standards are too easy. And some of the professionals believe that the standards are too difficult. Which suggests that the standards are probably just right.

LOL! The standards were not vetted. The tests and materials developed to go with them are a mess. Why?

What, exactly, does "the standards were not vetted" mean? What would you consider "vetting"? Also, do you think it's possible for the standards to be good, or at least better than previous standards, even without "vetting"?

As for the materials, the reason is that better standards, by themselves, are not enough to get educational publishers out of the habit of putting out junk.

[Anonymous]

Okay so let's throw out the standards. Then what? I'm curious.

[Anonymous]

What, exactly, does "the standards were not vetted" mean?

Vetted? You don't know what that means? Look it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What, exactly, does "the standards were not vetted" mean?

Vetted? You don't know what that means? Look it up.

No, the question is not, "What does 'vetted' mean?" The question is, "What, exactly, does 'the standards were not vetted' mean?" Please answer the question. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

They were not vetted by the people who would use them: classroom teachers. They were written in isolation by "experts" who were hired by the Gates Foundation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They were not vetted by the people who would use them: classroom teachers. They were written in isolation by "experts" who were hired by the Gates Foundation.

That's an objection to the process. Do you have any objection to the actual standards?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Zimba sounds incredibly naive, totally clueless about writing standards and the actual follow-through that requires.

Why should our children be subject to what he says they should be learning at every grade? He has little classroom experience; he's an academic in a little glass bubble.

And yet somehow the standards he and the others came up with are good standards. They are in fact much better than what we used to have in Maryland, and there's an advantage in that they are common now to many states. The require mastery of basic facts by a certain age, and fluency with STANDARD ALGORITHMS (Carry the 1) by certain grades. Without use of calculators, which is different from what was expected/ allowed in many states.

The biggest problem with the standards is simply that they are set a bit too high for the lowest performing 2-3% of our student population, who will only be able to minimally achieve them. I agree that this is a problem, and those students shouldn't be sacrificed just because they are unable to ever meet these standards.

There is no consensus that these are appropriate standards, even by other professionals.

You will *never* have consensus. Not possible. Too many varying opinions. It's a lot like politics. Not even the old curriculum or standards had consensus.

[Anonymous]

I have yet to see any really good defense of the standards. My problem: it fosters the belief that kids come to the teacher on a plane. They don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have yet to see any really good defense of the standards. My problem: it fosters the belief that kids come to the teacher on a plane. They don't.

Then either you haven't looked, or you have seen it but didn't recognize it as such.

The standards are standards. That is all. All that the standards say is, "By the end of x grade, a child should be able to do x." The standards do not say, "If the child cannot do x, it is all 100% the teacher's fault." If people use the raw test results, in isolation, to assess teacher performance, then that is a big problem with that method of teacher performance assessment. But it is not a problem with the standards.

[Anonymous]

People, it's not the standards. It's the curriculum that is the problem in a lot of cases. Complain about who wrote the curriculum in your schools because it's not the same across all of the states that have implemented CC standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They were not vetted by the people who would use them: classroom teachers. They were written in isolation by "experts" who were hired by the Gates Foundation.

Complete nonsense - fact is, the vast majority of the standards were compiled through a process of researching and comparing numerous existing "best-of-breed" standards that already existed in various states. It WAS NOT developed "in isolation" and it was vetted at numerous levels.

[Anonymous]

Complete nonsense - fact is, the vast majority of the standards were compiled through a process of researching and comparing numerous existing "best-of-breed" standards that already existed in various states. It WAS NOT developed "in isolation" and it was vetted at numerous levels.

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Complete nonsense - fact is, the vast majority of the standards were compiled through a process of researching and comparing numerous existing "best-of-breed" standards that already existed in various states. It WAS NOT developed "in isolation" and it was vetted at numerous levels.

No.

"No"? No what? No, the people made the standards up out of thin air?

[Anonymous]

From the Common Core website -

The nation's governors and education commissioners, through their representative organizations, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), led the development of the Common Core State Standards and continue to lead the initiative. Teachers, parents, school administrators, and experts from across the country, together with state leaders, provided input into the development of the standards. The actual implementation of the Common Core, including how the standards are taught, the curriculum developed, and the materials used to support teachers as they help students reach the standards, is led entirely at the state and local levels.