Reply to Common Core question for proponents

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "Common Core question for proponents"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Without testing there's no objective baseline or basis for actually knowing how we are doing in terms of education, there's no way of comparing how Maryland is doing as compared to Virginia as compared to DC, or for that matter Alabama or New York, or Germany, or Singapore. And without knowing how you're doing, you have no means of knowing where you truly excel or where you do in fact need more work, and you have no idea where to look in terms of figuring out how to improve. You're basically flying blind and winging it.[/quote]

The PSAT and SAT and ACT tests give us information.  I don't think we have to worry about the comparison to Germany and Singapore, etc. because they don't have the same breadth of population being counted in their statistics.

The USA has the best universities in the world.  People flock here from all over the world because they know we have the best.  Our students who go on to these schools are not less than what other countries are producing.

The best schools in America are those that are not defined by certain "standards".  They are the schools that take students from wherever they are and improve them.  This is going on every day in schools in America.  The complexity of what is going on will never be able to be fully tested by a standardized test.

And, yes, I agree that there is no objective baseline.  But, education cannot be totally objectified.  It defies the objectification, by its very nature, that the bean counters are seeking.  What Maryland and Virginia and Alabama and New York are doing can be different and that's okay.  In fact, what certain districts inside these states are doing is probably different and that's okay too.  We need a diversity of thinking and approaches to thinking and creating in America.  That's our strength.  We are unique and we don't need to look like Singapore or Japan or Taiwan or Korea.  Free thinking is our strength.

Also, would you want a doctor who follows a strict set of rules for your malady or would you want a doctor who considers your particular body type, health issues, physical history, etc. and then adjusts the protocol based on your individual circumstances?

The best way to make education stronger is to recruit good people, train them well, and let them do the complex job of teaching.  Anything else is secondary to this.

[/quote]

I would disagree with you on many of your points.  PSAT, ACT and SAT only give us information for college-bound students - it doesn't tell us much about the rest of the students.  It also doesn't provide any assessment until kids are near graduation.  What about the 4th grader who doesn't have an IEP, but can barely read or who can't add 1+1?  Isn't that important to identify early on?

Also, our universities are *not* necessarily the best in the world - in fact, university degree programs in the US have become watered down over the last several decades - the typical Engineering degree in the US in many cases is down to less than 125 credits, as opposed to 135+ 20 years ago, and the content is less deep and rigorous than it was.  You should take a look at technical programs at universities like Technion in Israel as compared to one in the US and you will see both more content and deeper content than for the corresponding program in the US.

As for "standards" - I visualize you doing air quotes while saying it as though they somehow are meaningless - I doubt you actually have any deep familiarity with the standards.  They aren't random, arbitrary or capricious, they are wrapped around a set of concrete, sequential, logical building blocks for education.  http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/

Sure, education cannot be completely objectified or quantified, but is that any reason for not quantifying and objectifying any of it at all?  I don't think so.   Nobody is seeking or expecting *complete* objectification, anyhow - CC does not strive for that, it's only a minimal standard, and neither does NCLB, it doesn't even remotely attempt to assess every aspect of educational achievement - it just looks at several key areas.[/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