Anonymous
Post 02/13/2015 08:25     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I find this line of argument that we should withdraw from taking the tests because they're too hard for our dumb and/or poorly taught students to be astonishing.

Tests are SUPPOSED to be hard.


No, Tests like these are supposed to measure what kids know. They should be a mix of challenging and easier questions. And teachers, parents and students should have access to the test questions and results -- exactly what kids missed. But there is none of that. There is a vague 1, 2, 3, 4 grade, with no specifics on where are student is weak.


But we get it. You are all about punishment and grit, not what students learn or how they fare in life.


You have a really bizarre and extreme way of thinking, pp. What is wrong with you? Are you actually a parent? I hope not.

These tests DO (or will) measure what the kids know. If the kids do poorly on them, there's something wrong -- either with the test or with the kids -- but it doesn't mean we should boycott the test for fear of finding out. That has nothing to do with "punishment."





Anonymous
Post 02/13/2015 08:19     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:I find this line of argument that we should withdraw from taking the tests because they're too hard for our dumb and/or poorly taught students to be astonishing.

Tests are SUPPOSED to be hard.


No, Tests like these are supposed to measure what kids know. They should be a mix of challenging and easier questions. And teachers, parents and students should have access to the test questions and results -- exactly what kids missed. But there is none of that. There is a vague 1, 2, 3, 4 grade, with no specifics on where are student is weak.


But we get it. You are all about punishment and grit, not what students learn or how they fare in life.
Anonymous
Post 02/13/2015 08:14     Subject: Re:"Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
The reason you have 9th graders reading at a low elementary level is probably because they were likely taught sight words at the expense of phonics. It's because the existing curriculum and standards sucked prior to Common Core.


Phonics has ALWAYS been in the curriculum. Even in the days of "Dick and Jane." You'd have a hard time reading if you didn't know some sight words.
Anonymous
Post 02/13/2015 07:24     Subject: Re:"Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Also, keep in mind that practice tests likely haven't been timed and aren't necessarily focused on content at all. Teachers need to familiarize students with all of the tools available on the chrome books. There may be quite a bit of conversation going on between teachers and students during these practice sessions, which of course can't happen during the actual test


OK, you are predicting disaster and doom. But you don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. I am predicting lack of disaster and absence of doom. But I don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. Only time will tell which of us is correct.


Well, I have been teaching for over 20 years and know when something is developmentally appropriate for children. I've taken the online practice assessments and they are quite challenging. I believe many scores will be negatively impacted by poor computer skills. In order to get through the reading portion of the test, you really need to have strong keyboarding skills.


yes
with the ability to transfer usage skills from one computer to another

We spend a few class periods allowing HS students to become acquainted with the Chromebooks, for example.

The questions are very hard. And if the kids couldn't pass the HSAs, there's no way they'll pass PARCC. no way . . .

I have 9th graders reading at a low elementary level. They'll never graduate at this rate.


The reason you have 9th graders reading at a low elementary level is probably because they were likely taught sight words at the expense of phonics. It's because the existing curriculum and standards sucked prior to Common Core.

As for Chromebooks, it's not as though they need to understand the OS or algorithms or how CPUs and RAM work or anything involved, for the purposes of PARCC all they need to know is how to navigate the test app, for crying out loud. VERY basic stuff.
Anonymous
Post 02/13/2015 07:11     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
I find this line of argument that we should withdraw from taking the tests because they're too hard for our dumb and/or poorly taught students to be astonishing.

Tests are SUPPOSED to be hard.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 22:18     Subject: Re:"Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Also, keep in mind that practice tests likely haven't been timed and aren't necessarily focused on content at all. Teachers need to familiarize students with all of the tools available on the chrome books. There may be quite a bit of conversation going on between teachers and students during these practice sessions, which of course can't happen during the actual test


OK, you are predicting disaster and doom. But you don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. I am predicting lack of disaster and absence of doom. But I don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. Only time will tell which of us is correct.


Well, I have been teaching for over 20 years and know when something is developmentally appropriate for children. I've taken the online practice assessments and they are quite challenging. I believe many scores will be negatively impacted by poor computer skills. In order to get through the reading portion of the test, you really need to have strong keyboarding skills.


yes
with the ability to transfer usage skills from one computer to another

We spend a few class periods allowing HS students to become acquainted with the Chromebooks, for example.

The questions are very hard. And if the kids couldn't pass the HSAs, there's no way they'll pass PARCC. no way . . .

I have 9th graders reading at a low elementary level. They'll never graduate at this rate.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 22:13     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/02/10/onslaught-tests-burn-elyria-high-starr/


"I can’t do it anymore, not in this ‘drill ‘em and kill ‘em’ atmosphere,” she said. “I don’t think anyone understands that in this environment if your child cannot quickly grasp material, study like a robot and pass all of these tests, they will not survive.”

The standing-room-only audience at the Elyria Public Library’s West River Road North branch was shocked. Starr fought back tears as she explained her life as a teacher.

The tests are developmentally inappropriate for typical students and torture for those with special needs, she said. And, even an individual education plan is not enough to shield students from the rigors of state expectations.


Can kids avoid Common Core curriculum by attending private schools instead of public?


I know many of the religious privates have embraced CC.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 22:08     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:

Some questions are also pages long, with multiple steps. You can spend up to an hour on one problem -- then get it wrong because it's several grade levels beyond you.


Do you:

(a) have examples of this from the tested versions of the test

(b) have evidence that the results of the testing of those questions indicated that they should be included on the "real" test when it's implemented

(c) have any evidence to demonstrate the claim that such questions were several grade levels beyond the level expected of those to who the questions were administed

or are you

(d) repeating the same fearmongering claims you read/heard somewhere else without applying the critical thinking skills your more traditional education supposedly provided you?
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 21:57     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
^ Please remind why we are doing this again?

Will students be held back from the next grade if they fail? Will schools be held to some system of warnings over a certain number of years? Will teachers be put on performance plans and later fired?

Will there be an expectation of constantly higher scores within a school?

Will the feds send more money to "failing schools"? Will they take money away from schools?

Whatever.


We're doing it because the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires it. This requirement predates the Common Core standards, and getting rid of the Common Core standards will have no effect on this requirement. The only thing that will change this requirement is an act of Congress.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 21:53     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests

^ Please remind why we are doing this again?

Will students be held back from the next grade if they fail? Will schools be held to some system of warnings over a certain number of years? Will teachers be put on performance plans and later fired?

Will there be an expectation of constantly higher scores within a school?

Will the feds send more money to "failing schools"? Will they take money away from schools?

Whatever.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 21:44     Subject: Re:"Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Also, keep in mind that practice tests likely haven't been timed and aren't necessarily focused on content at all. Teachers need to familiarize students with all of the tools available on the chrome books. There may be quite a bit of conversation going on between teachers and students during these practice sessions, which of course can't happen during the actual test


OK, you are predicting disaster and doom. But you don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. I am predicting lack of disaster and absence of doom. But I don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. Only time will tell which of us is correct.


Well, I have been teaching for over 20 years and know when something is developmentally appropriate for children. I've taken the online practice assessments and they are quite challenging. I believe many scores will be negatively impacted by poor computer skills. In order to get through the reading portion of the test, you really need to have strong keyboarding skills.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 21:36     Subject: Re:"Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Try taking one of the sample tests in reading. They're not easy by any means. Also, remember that these are computer tests, not paper pencil. Many of the students will be taking them on the chrome books. These are timed tests. If you don't have great keyboarding skills, then there's a strong possibility you will not finish the test, which will certainly lead to some anxiety, not to mention low scores. Will the tests be an accurate measure of a student's mastery of academic content if they have poor keyboarding skills? You can access practice tests from the PARCC/Pearson site. Put your kid on it and time him (and watch his anxiety kick in).


My kid is actually doing practice tests on the Chromebooks in class. She hasn't reported any anxiety.

Also, my kid's teacher field-tested the PARCC tests last year. She reports that the tests went well, and she doesn't expect any problems this year.


Really? What school? My school field tested last year as well, and we received no information on student performance. Also, massive log-ons to the site may have glitches. During grade wide sessions of having ALL students accessing the site, we had quite a few students who could not access the site (using passwords and log-ins provided by the county.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 21:36     Subject: Re:"Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:Also, keep in mind that practice tests likely haven't been timed and aren't necessarily focused on content at all. Teachers need to familiarize students with all of the tools available on the chrome books. There may be quite a bit of conversation going on between teachers and students during these practice sessions, which of course can't happen during the actual test


OK, you are predicting disaster and doom. But you don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. I am predicting lack of disaster and absence of doom. But I don't know for sure, because nobody has taken the tests yet. Only time will tell which of us is correct.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 21:35     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC just took a practice test. DC said it was "hard" because there is an essay portion of the test. I thought it was all multiple choice?


No, it's a lot of writing.

Some questions are also pages long, with multiple steps. You can spend up to an hour on one problem -- then get it wrong because it's several grade levels beyond you.


Please provide an example of a pages-long question with multiple steps that somebody might spend an hour on.

And if the question is several grades beyond you, then you are not working at grade level, and it's not surprising if you get it wrong.


Go to the PARCC site and take one yourself. They are very challenging. On grade level kids will struggle. Below grade level kids and students with
IEPs will have extreme difficulty getting through these tests.


Please provide an example. Ideally for third grade, because my kid is in third grade. Thanks.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2015 21:29     Subject: "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC just took a practice test. DC said it was "hard" because there is an essay portion of the test. I thought it was all multiple choice?


No, it's a lot of writing.

Some questions are also pages long, with multiple steps. You can spend up to an hour on one problem -- then get it wrong because it's several grade levels beyond you.


Please provide an example of a pages-long question with multiple steps that somebody might spend an hour on.

And if the question is several grades beyond you, then you are not working at grade level, and it's not surprising if you get it wrong.


Go to the PARCC site and take one yourself. They are very challenging. On grade level kids will struggle. Below grade level kids and students with
IEPs will have extreme difficulty getting through these tests.