Why are people so upset about Common Core?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/07/common-core-test-gives-students-no-time-to-think-teacher/

Okay. Then read the standards and design a test. It is not instant and it is not working.

That column is about the Pearson tests designed for New York's ridiculous so-called Common Core (plus lots of other stuff) curriculum. New York's curriculum is bad. New York's tests are bad. We've established that. But New York's curriculum is not the Common Core, and New York's tests are not the Common Core tests (PARCC or Smarter Balanced).

As for the standards themselves, ok, let's see. I'm going to look at the second-grade standards, because I have a second-grader. Here's a standard:

CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1 Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g., 706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones.

OK, so to test that, I could ask:

In the number 706, what does the digit 7 stand for?
How many hundreds are in the number 706?
Fill in the blank: 706 = 700 + _____

That's off the top of my head, based on questions in Singapore Math. I don't know what's in the PARCC test or the Smarter Balanced test. But clearly it's not impossible (or even difficult) to design test questions for this standard. In fact, guess what? My second-grader is already answering questions like that in math class!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/07/common-core-test-gives-students-no-time-to-think-teacher/

Okay. Then read the standards and design a test. It is not instant and it is not working.

That column is about the Pearson tests designed for New York's ridiculous so-called Common Core (plus lots of other stuff) curriculum. New York's curriculum is bad. New York's tests are bad. We've established that. But New York's curriculum is not the Common Core, and New York's tests are not the Common Core tests (PARCC or Smarter Balanced).

As for the standards themselves, ok, let's see. I'm going to look at the second-grade standards, because I have a second-grader. Here's a standard:

CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1 Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g., 706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones.

OK, so to test that, I could ask:

In the number 706, what does the digit 7 stand for?
How many hundreds are in the number 706?
Fill in the blank: 706 = 700 + _____

That's off the top of my head, based on questions in Singapore Math. I don't know what's in the PARCC test or the Smarter Balanced test. But clearly it's not impossible (or even difficult) to design test questions for this standard. In fact, guess what? My second-grader is already answering questions like that in math class!

+1000 THANK YOU. Boggles my mind why people think this stuff is incomprehensible, untestable, et cetera. Obviously they have never actually taught math to kids. Or, if they have - they are probably doing it wrong.

[Anonymous]

That's a pretty easy example. There are many ones that are not so easy. And, besides, does that show that the child "understands"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's a pretty easy example. There are many ones that are not so easy. And, besides, does that show that the child "understands"?

Fine. Pick another standard. Any one you want.

And yes, that does show that the child understands. Unless you want to start a philosophical discussion about the meaning of "understanding"?

[Anonymous]

Okay, then. Here's another--still second grade:

Explain why addition and subtraction strategies work, using place value and the properties of operations.1

[Anonymous]

And yes, that does show that the child understands. Unless you want to start a philosophical discussion about the meaning of "understanding"?

You left out the two sub-standards of that standard.

[Anonymous]

Oh good grief.

CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1.a 100 can be thought of as a bundle of ten tens — called a "hundred."

Test question: How many tens in 100? How many tens in 200?

CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1.b
The numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds (and 0 tens and 0 ones).

Test question: In the number 500, what digit is in the hundreds place? What digit is in the tens place? What digit is in the ones place?

THIS IS JUST NOT THAT HARD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, then. Here's another--still second grade:

Explain why addition and subtraction strategies work, using place value and the properties of operations.1

Question: Is this correct? 25-13=38 Yes or no. Explain why.
Answer: No, this is not correct. 25-13=12. 23 is 2 tens and 5 ones. 15 is 1 ten and 3 ones. 2 tens minus 1 ten is 1 ten. 5 ones minus 3 ones is 2 ones.

I'm not a math major. I'm not a math teacher. I'm not a test designer. And even I can figure this out. I really don't understand why somebody would think it was impossible to write test problems for this standard.

[Anonymous]

But, why?

[Anonymous]

You do realize your test is not in multiple choice form for the "why". You also must realize that a test on the standards will take hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do realize your test is not in multiple choice form for the "why". You also must realize that a test on the standards will take hours?

What is your point? Must the tests be in multiple choice form? Who says? And why would a test on the standards have to take hours? How many hours? Two hours? Ten hours? 100 hours?

Anybody would think, from reading this, that nobody has ever taken a standardized test before, let alone designed one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But, why?

Because two tens minus one ten leaves one ten. That's why. Yes, it actually is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But, why?

This isn't a major philosophical problem here. The standard is asking 2nd grade students to know that 36 is 3 tens and 6 ones, and that 23 is 2 tens and 3 ones; and that you add them together and get 5 tens and 9 ones, or 59.

There's no more to the standard than that (or possibly also including regrouping.) That's using place value to add. (Instead of counting on 23 times.)

Perhaps the standard should be reworded since it is causing you so much difficulty; into two separate standards. Other states have had these standards for the same principle:

Understand and use place value to solve two digit additions and subtraction problems
Understand and use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction to solve problems and check solutions

However, you would need to observe a child adding and subtracting individually to be certain he or she was using place value (and not just counting on repeatedly)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do realize your test is not in multiple choice form for the "why". You also must realize that a test on the standards will take hours?

What is your point? Must the tests be in multiple choice form? Who says? And why would a test on the standards have to take hours? How many hours? Two hours? Ten hours? 100 hours?

Anybody would think, from reading this, that nobody has ever taken a standardized test before, let alone designed one.

The PP you are replying to has, I believe, a child who is learning disabled in the verbal area and cannot write well. Asking children with dysgraphia to write an answer like "2 tens plus 5 tens = 7 10s" is sheer torture to such children; I know, because my child had a writing difficulty in 2nd grade though not as bad as to be labeled dysgraphia.

This standard should also be able to be measured by students responding orally. You don't need to ask the question hundreds of times, tough, just enough to be sure they get the concept.

[Anonymous]

No, that poster taught kids who just plain struggled in school and did not have support at home. You do realize that the first skill these kids will need to learn is how to take a multiple choice test? That is a skill in itself.