Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't like Common core, but this mess about the holocaust denial has nothing to do with it.

When a district states the paper was to meet common core standards, you have an issue. Clearly, the district didn't understand Common Core. Why is that?

I once had a kindergartener take a marker and write FUK and DAM on the bathroom walls. His behavior demonstrated mastery of the following Common Core standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.A
Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.C
Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.D
Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

That doesn't mean that the behavior was OK or that the standards are bad. It simply means that it's a teacher's job to teach their students when and how to apply their skills.

A student who can read papers by holocaust deniers and historians, decide which one they agree with, and write an essay explaining their argument while citing specific evidence from that text, is in fact demonstrating mastery of the CCSS. So, in that sense that district is right. This assignment does meet the CCSS. That doesn't make it in any way appropriate. There are, after all, many other topics a student can write about to demonstrate mastery of the same standard, just as there are many other words and surfaces my kindergarten could have used to demonstrate his prowess at spelling and handwriting.

Anonymous wrote:

Title I -- if the student test score component in the teacher evaluation system is based on how much the test scores increased over the year, as is currently true.

If you cannot do third grade math, you are not likely to show growth on a sixth grade test. Is the child going to be given a test at his level? or his age level? Kind of like learning Spanish but being given a test in German.

Anonymous wrote:I suggest you read up on the learning process. If you can't do third grade math, you are not likely to show growth on a sixth grade math test.

Anonymous wrote:

Title I -- if the student test score component in the teacher evaluation system is based on how much the test scores increased over the year, as is currently true.

If you cannot do third grade math, you are not likely to show growth on a sixth grade test. Is the child going to be given a test at his level? or his age level? Kind of like learning Spanish but being given a test in German.

Title I -- if the student test score component in the teacher evaluation system is based on how much the test scores increased over the year, as is currently true.

Anonymous wrote:

This is one of the things the Common Core seeks to address. If standards are aligned with what students actually need to know then students who were well taught will be successful on the test and in life. Common Core standards go further than many states' previous standards at describing higher level skills that are actually useful in real life such as argumentative essays rather than "_BCRs", and specifying the contexts in which students should be able to demonstrate skills such as the kind of content (science, history), genre, and text complexity.

That is a huge IF. A bigger IF is the test. And, please tell me, which class would you rather teach under these circumstances? GT or Title I?

This is one of the things the Common Core seeks to address. If standards are aligned with what students actually need to know then students who were well taught will be successful on the test and in life. Common Core standards go further than many states' previous standards at describing higher level skills that are actually useful in real life such as argumentative essays rather than "_BCRs", and specifying the contexts in which students should be able to demonstrate skills such as the kind of content (science, history), genre, and text complexity.

Anonymous wrote:

Why would good teachers be fired, for selecting a curriculum that does a good job of helping students meet the Standards (in the case of the 8th graders, writing an argumentative essay, in the case of 3rd graders, writing a paragraph, etc.)

The teachers who game the system will teach to the test. The good teachers will teach the students.

Why would good teachers be fired, for selecting a curriculum that does a good job of helping students meet the Standards (in the case of the 8th graders, writing an argumentative essay, in the case of 3rd graders, writing a paragraph, etc.)

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, you've persuaded me. Everything about the Common Core is bad. Including things that have nothing to do with the Common Core. Even the words "a" and "the" are bad, when they appear in the Common Core standards. Proper planning would have prevented their appearance, and it's impossible to implement them properly. My proof? There is an 'a' in Holocaust. Whose fault is that? Follow the money. (Hint: Arne also starts with an 'a'.)

Have you ever heard of "unintended consequences"? With the requirements for its implementations, good teachers will be fired and mediocre teachers may game the system.

Anonymous wrote:

^^^Of course, if we don't do anything, there will be unintended consequences to that, too.

Yes, the local systems can step up and teach instead of test.

^^^Of course, if we don't do anything, there will be unintended consequences to that, too.