...who haven't bombed these tests yet that think Common Core is good...

Yes, I have a kid who is being subjected to Common Core. For math, they use CPM math, a ridiculous and discredited math system that is perfectly aligned to the Common Core.

Also, if you look around nationwide, it's teachers and parents whose kids haven't bombed these tests yet. Your district can teach Common Core in a variety of ways, but the tests demand that Common Core is understood one way and one way only. Your district's curriculum will be meaningless once students face these tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a 3rd grader who took the PARCC reading test as part of the pilot. She did not think it was impossibly hard. She said each part took a little over an hour and there was a lot of typing. However, she said what the test was asking for was similar to the writing that they had been working on for the past two years in reading -- citing specific examples to support a position from more than one text. I think the its too hard hype may be overblown.

If your child is a strong student, it would make sense that she would do well. About 30 percent of the student body will pass.


70 percent of the white student body will fail this test, and up to 95 percent of black, Hispanic and special needs students will fail.

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

Because that is what has happened in every state that rolled out Common Core, then tested their kids on it.

I'm a Common Core supporter. I have to admit that most of the African American/ESOL/Special Ed/FARMS kids will fail the PARCC tests. And a LOT of rich white kids will fail too. The writing test is very rigorous. Not in a bad way; if we stick with the program long enough, we will actually have a chance of having kids who can, in fact, write an argumentative essay or (gasp) an actual research report... but right now most of our kids (esp in MD) aren't anywhere close to being able to do that, having only ever been asked to write BCRs.

Or you will have massive dropout rates, and kids who start giving up on school in kindergarten. What will we do with all these kids who don't graduate from high school because of these exams?

Please, exaggerate much? Do you actually have a kid in a common core district? I do (including a kindergartener and older elementary) -- the differences with the prior curriculum are barely perceptible. At the kindergarten level, the only notable difference is that they work on their handwriting more-- hardly the stuff that forces kids to drop out of school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a 3rd grader who took the PARCC reading test as part of the pilot. She did not think it was impossibly hard. She said each part took a little over an hour and there was a lot of typing. However, she said what the test was asking for was similar to the writing that they had been working on for the past two years in reading -- citing specific examples to support a position from more than one text. I think the its too hard hype may be overblown.

If your child is a strong student, it would make sense that she would do well. About 30 percent of the student body will pass.


70 percent of the white student body will fail this test, and up to 95 percent of black, Hispanic and special needs students will fail.

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

Because that is what has happened in every state that rolled out Common Core, then tested their kids on it.

I'm a Common Core supporter. I have to admit that most of the African American/ESOL/Special Ed/FARMS kids will fail the PARCC tests. And a LOT of rich white kids will fail too. The writing test is very rigorous. Not in a bad way; if we stick with the program long enough, we will actually have a chance of having kids who can, in fact, write an argumentative essay or (gasp) an actual research report... but right now most of our kids (esp in MD) aren't anywhere close to being able to do that, having only ever been asked to write BCRs.

Or you will have massive dropout rates, and kids who start giving up on school in kindergarten. What will we do with all these kids who don't graduate from high school because of these exams?

Anonymous wrote:

This is a diverse country with lots of different needs. We don't need a national standard. Each area has its own issues and should be able to address them as it wishes.

You think we need "Rhode Island math" and "North Carolina math"?

I like having a national standard. It seems inefficient for all states to have their own standards with textbooks trying to relate to all these different states. Wish VA would get on board as well. Some states used to or still have to conform to multiple standards every year both county wide and state wide. People and teachers move all the time and it's annoying if one state teaches something one year and another state teaches the same subject a different year. Every day doesn't have to be prescribed though and there shouldn't be any reason kids can't be behind or ahead in the general standards. There have been standards for years where the accommodated kids who didn't work toward the middle. Friends in Damascus say their kids have no problem getting ahead or getting special ed support using common core.

This is a diverse country with lots of different needs. We don't need a national standard. Each area has its own issues and should be able to address them as it wishes.

Funny how "dsygraphia" suddenly started popping up everywhere when schools stopped spending as much time on handwriting - and when they dropped cursive altogether

off-topic--My son, now a college grad---struggled with manuscript. We were told it would improve when they moved to cursive. They never did! He can type 93 words/minute, but still struggles with notes.

I like having a national standard. It seems inefficient for all states to have their own standards with textbooks trying to relate to all these different states. Wish VA would get on board as well. Some states used to or still have to conform to multiple standards every year both county wide and state wide. People and teachers move all the time and it's annoying if one state teaches something one year and another state teaches the same subject a different year. Every day doesn't have to be prescribed though and there shouldn't be any reason kids can't be behind or ahead in the general standards. There have been standards for years where the accommodated kids who didn't work toward the middle. Friends in Damascus say their kids have no problem getting ahead or getting special ed support using common core.

Funny how "dsygraphia" suddenly started popping up everywhere when schools stopped spending as much time on handwriting - and when they dropped cursive altogether.

Anonymous wrote:
It's not bad, but if your child has dysgraphia or any learning disability around writing, all of a sudden, every part of the curriculum is cut off for them. Common Core makes no allowances for those with disabilities.

That's what the term "standard" means. The Common Core State Standards are what every child should be able to do by the end of the year.

Yes, if your child has a learning disability, then he or she very likely will have trouble reaching that standard. That's pretty much the definition of the term "learning disability". If the dysgraphia is severe, he or she should qualify for an IEP or 504 plan and should be able to get osme accommodations on the PARCC end of year tests; however, bottom line if the IEP should have a plan to give your child extra help and different instruction with the goal of having your child MEET the standard within a certain number of years.

The goal is to have children catch up to the standard, through individual intensive instruction if need be. Not to pretend there isn't a standard, and never have some children learn to read and write properly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a 3rd grader who took the PARCC reading test as part of the pilot. She did not think it was impossibly hard. She said each part took a little over an hour and there was a lot of typing. However, she said what the test was asking for was similar to the writing that they had been working on for the past two years in reading -- citing specific examples to support a position from more than one text. I think the its too hard hype may be overblown.

If your child is a strong student, it would make sense that she would do well. About 30 percent of the student body will pass.


70 percent of the white student body will fail this test, and up to 95 percent of black, Hispanic and special needs students will fail.

How can you possibly know these numbers about a test that is only in pilot form? And what a sad statement about public education in America if this was true.

Because that is what has happened in every state that rolled out Common Core, then tested their kids on it.

I'm a Common Core supporter. I have to admit that most of the African American/ESOL/Special Ed/FARMS kids will fail the PARCC tests. And a LOT of rich white kids will fail too. The writing test is very rigorous. Not in a bad way; if we stick with the program long enough, we will actually have a chance of having kids who can, in fact, write an argumentative essay or (gasp) an actual research report... but right now most of our kids (esp in MD) aren't anywhere close to being able to do that, having only ever been asked to write BCRs.