Testing scores are rigged so most kids fail:

http://www.longislandpress.com/2015/03/12/anti-common-core-fury-intensifies-on-long-island-protest-draws-more-than-1k/

Anti-Common Core Fury Intensifies on Long Island; Protest Draws More Than 1K


Diane Ravitch contended to the crowd that the cut scores [the grades set by the testing consortia to signify passing grades] were devised in such a way as to fail a set percentage of students and present an “invented crisis” in the education system. Based on her seven-year tenure on the governing board of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Ravitch described that the cut scores were based on proficiency levels set by NAEP, a threshold that a known minority of students were expected to reach.

“They knew well in advance that only 30 to 35 percent of students in most states have ever scored proficient by these standards,” she slammed. “The Common Core tests are designed to fail the majority of students and that is exactly what happened in New York State. But you have to understand that the cut scores are not based on science. They are not based on objective measures, but subjective judgment.”

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

Why the Smarter Balanced Common Core Math Test is Fatally Flawed

Why do we care what this guy says? What are his credentials? (What are his conflicts of interest?) Anybody can write anything and put it up on the Internet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another state moves away from Common Core

Common Core Standards Dead in South Carolina

http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2015/03/11/common-core-standards-dead-in-south-carolina/70177726/

Columbia, SC (WLTX) The South Carolina Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to replace the Common Core Standards now being used in math and English, killing Common Core in the state. The board adopted new standards, written by teams of South Carolinians, which teachers will start using this fall.

Really? That doesn't leave a lot of time for teacher feedback, testing, vetting, piloting, and publishing of data and documentation showing that the standards are good and developmentally appropriate. In fact, I don't even need to look at the standards to know that such a flawed process could only have produced flawed standards. Get rid of these untested, unproven South Carolina standards before they ruin our children!

^^^also, please provide the names and credentials of every South Carolinian who wrote the standards, plus every e-mail, memo, meeting minute, draft, presentation, and briefing involved in the development of the standards.

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

Why the Smarter Balanced Common Core Math Test is Fatally Flawed

In 2010, I, like many educators, 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.

Given my background as a publisher of mathematics curriculum and software, 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.

Below are just a few of my findings. You’ll find the actual sample questions along with analysis in my report at www.mathedconsulting.com.

Anonymous wrote:Another state moves away from Common Core

Common Core Standards Dead in South Carolina

http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2015/03/11/common-core-standards-dead-in-south-carolina/70177726/

Columbia, SC (WLTX) The South Carolina Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to replace the Common Core Standards now being used in math and English, killing Common Core in the state. The board adopted new standards, written by teams of South Carolinians, which teachers will start using this fall.

Really? That doesn't leave a lot of time for teacher feedback, testing, vetting, piloting, and publishing of data and documentation showing that the standards are good and developmentally appropriate. In fact, I don't even need to look at the standards to know that such a flawed process could only have produced flawed standards. Get rid of these untested, unproven South Carolina standards before they ruin our children!

Another state moves away from Common Core

Common Core Standards Dead in South Carolina

http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2015/03/11/common-core-standards-dead-in-south-carolina/70177726/

Columbia, SC (WLTX) The South Carolina Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to replace the Common Core Standards now being used in math and English, killing Common Core in the state. The board adopted new standards, written by teams of South Carolinians, which teachers will start using this fall.

Not necessary. The fact that the anti-CC posters have, after over a hundred pages, been unable to post any data proving that the standards are bad or that they will make things worse has already spoken for itself

Hahahahaha!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, you claim the standards are good. I'd like to see some research that supports that. You claim it will make things better. I'd like to know how.

Actually, the claims in this thread are:

1. the standards are bad.
2. the standards will make things worse.

When somebody starts a thread saying "The Common Core State standards are good and will make things better!", then you can ask the OP to provide research and explanation for the OP's claims.

Not necessary. The fact that the anti-CC posters have, after over a hundred pages, been unable to post any data proving that the standards are bad or that they will make things worse has already spoken for itself

Anonymous wrote:Well, you claim the standards are good. I'd like to see some research that supports that. You claim it will make things better. I'd like to know how.

Actually, the claims in this thread are:

1. the standards are bad.
2. the standards will make things worse.

When somebody starts a thread saying "The Common Core State standards are good and will make things better!", then you can ask the OP to provide research and explanation for the OP's claims.

Anonymous wrote:

Pearson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, and others have been making millions off of education contracts each year for decades, and were doing so long before Common Core.

And by making wholesale changes in the standards, they insure that new materials will have to be purchased across America. Not only that, but more computers and software have to be bought in order for the online tests to be taken.

Gee. I wonder who benefits from the computers and software?

Google. Which is owned by Bill Gates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wait, no, it's not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We need to invest in good teachers, special education, teacher prep, smaller class sizes, etc so that teachers are able to bring students up to these standards.

No. The standards are not good. They stifle imagination and require robotic thinking. Let the teachers teach.

Citation, please... Where exactly does Common Core "require robotic thinking?" Which standards, specifically? And which standards, specifically "stifle imagination?"

Maybe this one?

CCSS.Math.Content.2.OA.B.2
Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies. By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.

Only robots should have to memorize all sums of two one-digit numbers. People should be able to come up with their own answers!

(I'm joking.)

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why anyone would complain about Common Core standards being too hard. Our education has lagged behind the rest of the developed world for ages, and yea, it'll be tough to catch up. We need to invest in good teachers, special education, teacher prep, smaller class sizes, etc so that teachers are able to bring students up to these standards. In 12 years, it won't be an issue because kids will have started school with high standards and it won't be a sudden change in expectations. It's hard to watch your own kids struggle, but it's also important to step back and realize we can't keep our entire education system at a lower standard just because it's hard for one generation of kids to catch up. And, most kids will catch up and be better off for it, just give it some time.

They only do that on the Schools and Education General Discussion forum. On the Maryland Public Schools forum, people complain about the Common Core standards being too easy. You always have to check which DCUM forum you're on, when it comes to discussions of the Common Core standards.

Anonymous wrote:http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/12/concerns-grow-about-common-core-high-school-standards/

The review was negligible. Problems.

The Daily Signal? Which is directly published by the Heritage Foundation? Right wing propaganda at its worst! Spare us that BS, thank you.

Anonymous wrote:
Schools do many, many things (and should be doing those things) that standards can not even begin to address. Unfortunately those things are put on the back burner as the focus has turned to "standards" and testing them.

If, in implementing the standards and bowing to testing pressures, we lose our semblance of humanity, it's at our own peril as a society. The whole idea of the federal government collecting "data" on our kids and then claiming that this is all for their betterment flies in the face of what people believe is best for the kids.

We've had standards and testing pressures since 2001, because of the No Child Left Behind Act. If we've lost our semblance of humanity, it's not the fault of the Common Core State Standards.

Another thing the Common Core State Standards won't do: increase the amount of data the federal government collects about schools.

Another claim: Common Core standards will dramatically increase the amount of personal information the federal government collects.

"There are over 300 data elements the government is going to be collecting about your children and about you," Tim Curtis, an activist with the tea party group 9/12, said in Tampa.

His claim has a kernel of truth: Florida requires school districts to keep student information. Some of it is required by the state, while other elements are optional, or only kept at the local level, such as bus stop numbers. The list includes students’ race, test scores, attendance and many more factors.

But those requirements have existed for decades — long before Common Core came along. States collect the data to help them make decisions.

The U.S. Department of Education has routine access to some data, but that data is aggregated and stripped of personally identifiable information.

In fact, laws predating Common Core prohibit a federal database of personally identifiable information on students.

"Florida has no plans to change the data it collects that is linked to Common Core," said Florida Department of Education spokeswoman Cheryl Etters.

We told Curtis that multiple educational experts said Common Core doesn’t require new data collection.

"I can shoot that claim down with a single explanation," Curtis said. "The Polk County school district began to do iris screening on school children and they did so without notifying their parents. They did so as a result of the beginning of the implementation of Common Core."

According to the Florida Department of Education, the screening was intended to route children onto the proper bus and wasn’t related to Common Core.

We rated the claim that Common Core means 300 points of data being collected as Mostly False.


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/oct/21/fact-checking-common-core-school-standards/

Anonymous wrote:http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/03/8563810/common-core-fallout-prompts-board-regents-shake

Common Core is costing politicians their positions.

New York had a poor rollout of Common Core - but that's a state matter, not a Common Core matter. Getting rid of Common Core doesn't get rid of the bad politician problem.