Common Core PARCC tests for fourth grade math

[Anonymous]

That doesn't really interest me. Who cares?

You have no intellectual curiosity? You were never taught to examine information critically? You really don't care? Wow. Do you work for Pearson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I certainly remember the word problems that we had. The books were full of them and our teachers expected us to understand them. This was in a normal public school. Sorry yours didn't do that.

I highly doubt you remember your 4th grade math tests. Maybe if you're 20 you might remember, but I'm 44. I seriously doubt they had lots of word problems on math tests in 4th grade 35 years ago. The were all probably just equations laid out that had to be solved.

35 yrs ago math was learned pretty much by rote. That's part of the reason why so many adults suck at math today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/your-money/americans-are-bad-at-math-but-its-not-too-late-to-fix.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/magazine/why-do-americans-stink-at-math.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That doesn't really interest me. Who cares?

You have no intellectual curiosity? You were never taught to examine information critically? You really don't care? Wow. Do you work for Pearson?

Actually, I'm a former journalist for 20 years. Curiosity abounds. I also have a good filter for what's important and what's not. Your fixation on "the testing companies are behind it all" is truly bizarre. It's like you think that's a smoking gun for something bad. You seriously need some help.

It doesn't really interest me because it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But it's going to improve their understanding of math in the long run.

Just because you did it differently as a child doesn't mean that was the right way. Far from it.

And, you know this, how?

Because my spouse has a Ph.D in early childhood education and explained this to me. She knows a lot more than some outraged mommies who are frustrated that they don't understand their fourth grader's homework and think there's some conspiracy involving hidden research and testing companies and possibly the black guy who is president.

[Anonymous]

You have no intellectual curiosity? You were never taught to examine information critically? You really don't care? Wow. Do you work for Pearson?

LOL (from someone who works with the Pearson products on a daily basis, unfortunately)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That doesn't really interest me. Who cares?

You have no intellectual curiosity? You were never taught to examine information critically? You really don't care? Wow. Do you work for Pearson?

Actually, I'm a former journalist for 20 years. Curiosity abounds. I also have a good filter for what's important and what's not. Your fixation on "the testing companies are behind it all" is truly bizarre. It's like you think that's a smoking gun for something bad. You seriously need some help.

It doesn't really interest me because it doesn't matter.

And as a journalist, I dealt with people like you: Conspiracy theorist, wannabe whistleblowers who mumbled a lot about secret documents and things "they" didn't want you to know and the trilateral commissioner and the like. You remind me of those people. Always gave them a listen, 49 times out of 50 they were complete crocks. You're definitely in the 49. Get a grip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This testing is different. Kids are supposed to learn "standards" across the U.S. and this test sees what they learned each year.

By that measure Common Core is already a massive failure. Everywhere kids have been tested after one or more years of learning the standards, MOST FAIL THE TESTS.

THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR OF PARCC. So NO ONE HAS YET FAILED THE TEST.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This question requires language and hand grading of the tests, complete with rubrics. Like that won't get royally screwed up!

All the "Explain how you know" crap is going to kill the math scores of a lot of students.




http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/Grade4-FractionComparison.pdf

That sample is dated 2013 prototype. I think they have since revised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a sample test of what will be expected of 4th grade students in math, in a few months,

http://parcc.pearson.com/resources/Practice_Tests/Grade_4/Math/PC194818-001_4MTHTB_PT.pdf

Some samples:


"A team runs a race. There are 4 people on the team. Each person runs the same distance. The team runs a total of 5280 feet."

Students need to solve the question (not multiple choice) and aren't allowed to use a calculator.

This seems like a pretty sensible question for fourth grade.

Can someone who thinks Common Core is developmentally inappropriate look through this test, and tell me which questions seem problematic to you?

Personally I like that so many students in 4th grade will be taking the same, sensible test -- kids in MD and MA and NY etc. We will be able to compare results across different states -- that's really what the point of having COMMON standards was.

OP here again. So , just to be clear, NO ONE has any objections to the questions that are on the above linked actual practice test for the PARCC that will be administered to 4th graders in March or April of this year, 2015??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is an OK 4th grade question -- but many kids will struggle with it because it's presented as a word problem and not a straight equation. I would bet that not more than half of the kids get it right.

The problem with these tests is that they are not diagnostic, they are only punitive. They don't tell the teachers, kids or parents where EXACTLY the child is weak.

Unlike tests I took 40 years ago, which pinpointed weaknesses so the tests could actually be helpful and informative.

Well, they are allowed to miss a bunch of questions and still pass. But I think most 4th graders should be able to handle division word problems.

[Anonymous]

Seems a bit contradictory that the same people are complaining about a lack of critical thinking at the same time that they complain about word problems.... umm, word problems BUILD critical thinking and analytical skills for the real world....

[Anonymous]

Because my spouse has a Ph.D in early childhood education and explained this to me. She knows a lot more than some outraged mommies who are frustrated that they don't understand their fourth grader's homework and think there's some conspiracy involving hidden research and testing companies and possibly the black guy who is president.

You just lost all credibility with that last comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
19:28,

That's an interesting statement considering that Common Core developers are not releasing the data and study results from the development of the standards.


That doesn't really interest me. Who cares? They are what they are, they make perfect sense, and the evidence such as these questions seems perfectly appropriate. I have a fourth grader, and she's definitely studying rays and end points and angles (question 1). In fact the entire tests seems completely in keeping with the work I've seen my fourth grader do this year -- and we are in Virginia, which is not a Common Core state (unfortunately).

I find the obsession with "not releasing the data and study results" to be a straw man. It's as if you mean to imply there's something nefarious about that secrecy. Which is just weird and makes you sound paranoid.

This matters enormously to teachers who are being held accountable with these tests. Where is the accountability for those who developed the standards if we don't even know who they are? Nobody should be above accountability in a process that is high stakes for many people. If they expect teachers to take all of this seriously (and I assume they do), they need to be transparent. This is not the Wizard of Oz.

[Anonymous]

This is interesting. The tests and how they are used is a major issue:

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=290868013&m=291023731

[Anonymous]

^The link is the second one under the story that pops up.