Reply to "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to ""Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2015-03-11-why-the-smarter-balanced-common-core-math-test-is-fatally-flawed

[b]Why the Smarter Balanced Common Core Math Test is Fatally Flawed[/b]

[b] In 2010, I, like many educators, [/b]was hopeful that $330 million of tax dollars from the U.S. Education Department and the pooled resources of state governments would produce a new generation of Common Core mathematics and language arts standardized tests that would be better than traditional paper-and-pencil multiple-choice tests.

Smarter Balanced, one of the two contractors the U.S. Department of Education selected to develop the tests, promised technology-enhanced tests that made smart use of digital tools for mathematics to more deeply assess student knowledge. Smarter Balanced, with an award of $176 million, vowed to “create innovative and real-world item types that rely on technology platforms.” Smarter Balanced, in turn, contracted with CTB/McGraw Hill, a traditional test making company, to make their “innovative” tests.

[b]Given my background as a publisher of mathematics curriculum and software,[/b] I was keenly interested to see whether the vision of better tests had been fulfilled. I took a close look at the Smarter Balanced practice and training tests available online. What I found shocked me: a quagmire of poor technological design, poor interaction design, and poor mathematics that hopelessly clouds the insights the tests might give us into students’ thinking.

B[b]elow are just a few of my findings. You’ll find the actual sample questions along with analysis in my report at www.mathedconsulting.com.[/b][/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics