Supporters who want to keep Common Core’s failed standards in place have come up with a new twist for deceiving unhappy parents. First, they point explicitly to Common Core as a failed strategy to increase the academic achievement of low achievers in order to alert parents to what has happened.
They do what seems at first confusing because it is widely known that most parents and teachers (if they felt free to speak their minds) detest Common Core’s standards, tests, and aligned textbooks or readings. All Common Core’s failings and limitations are real. While the many articles on the decline in student achievement in a Common Core-aligned educational environment tell the truth, there is malice in the schadenfreude expressed about the many disadvantaged kids who have been deprived of the educational equity that Common Core was initially touted as creating.
The strong possibility of public deception is suggested by two phenomena. First, there has been no media clamor in reports of Common Core’s failures for stronger standards and curriculum materials.
Second, Common Core’s major supporters — the bureaucracy at the U.S. Department of Education, most if not all state departments of education (such as the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education), and the Gates Foundation — have kept their financial and political commitment to the failed strategy. Not one major foundation has advocated that Common Core’s materials and approach be replaced with more effective materials and approaches despite the failure of Common Core. Neither has any decision maker for the U.S. Department of Education. Neither has a single National Assessment of Educational Progress educator.
The problems, they and many others claim, lie with the mandated tests — and lack of federal money. Explicitly, they don’t like “standardized” tests but think “performance-based assessments” would do the trick, even though they are costly, time-consuming, and unreliable.
Strange. State commissioners and departments of education have long known that in order to get rid of Common Core-based tests and replace them with tests that are actually different they must get rid of Common Core’s standards. The problem starts with the standards, not with the tests based on the Common Core standards.
They also know that Common Core-aligned standards and textbooks are in each state’s four-year state education plan — all approved by the U.S. Department of Education bureaucracy in 2016 or 2017 — and that these Common Core-aligned standards MUST be used until 2020. That’s why the strategy of public deception is taking place this year.
Some states may seem to be changing their K-12 math and English Language Arts standards right now. But check the details.
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Home school or private school if you want to defeat the teachers union.
ReplyDeleteI am a teacher, think the math standards are ridiculous, and unfortunately feel the pressure to be part of the union. I detest their politics, but fear being sued by a lying child/parent in the modern age of "my child did nothing wrong, it's all the teacher's fault!" The union membership includes millions in legal defense fees...that's the ONLY reason many of us are members.
ReplyDelete10:52 - I am long retired and heard that line for years before I walked away from the association. One of my colleagues dumped wcea right after the Janus case SCOTUS ruled on, and bought legal shield for 35$ a month. She has an attorney on retainer, on call, 24 hours a day and has no middleman.
DeleteDear readers,
ReplyDeleteI can certainly share that this is correct and true. Many years ago, MSDE moved to a performance based testing format entitled the “MSPAP” (Maryland State Performance Assessment Program) and it was the fore runner of the testing train wreck we see today. It was cumbersome, Ill defined in terms of the data it claimed to produce and curate, and was prohibitively expensive. After repeated failings and millions of tax payer dollars spent, the testing process transitioned into the MSA (Maryland State Assessment, the great grandfather of the current testing program), and the testing pendulum swung back to a more “traditional” format. I remember when common core surfaced and the federal dollars tied to it, and Dr. Handy stating to all who would hear that Wicomico would comply (she failed to say that WCBOE wanted the money, like everyone else) and that non-compliance would harm the school system. The administrators and teachers were expected to walk, lock step with this. (Incidentally, about this time, President Obama put out his memo to schools regarding a directive to stop the disciplinary pieces that resulted in so many suspensions of African American students, but that is a separate discussion for another time - the riots reflect some of the fall out of that I’ll fated decision). Fast forward to today, where now the powers that be are pushing for another performance based model of testing. I can assure you it too will be expensive, cumbersome, and politically motivated.
Now, there is no real way for parents to fight this. The state has seen fit to put up so many barriers against parents attempting to opt out, that parents have no recourse. Barring a massive, state wide legal action, parents have two options. A private school education (which can be financially challenging) or a home school option. Trust me when I tell you that the numbers the local school systems and state are truly fearing is one being bantered around that nearly 40% of public school students will not return in the fall after the covid situation is resolved. I’m not sure where the 40% comes from, as despite my inquiries, no source was named, but I can tell you that the school systems are very worried about this. If anything close to half that number occurs, public school budgets will implode. There are many in education circles who continue to push for the ill fated S.S. Minnow (the Kirwan commission), but if I were a teacher I would be very worried right now, and developing a plan B.
Frankly, the abuse of trust the local school systems have engaged in with the over taxed populace is simply staggering. One of the silver linings of the covid situation is that parents can see things with their eyes truly opened.
Kind Regards,
Paladin
Please homeschool your children because you love them, or the communist, sexually sick public school teachers systems will
ReplyDeleteParents have a choice. Have your kids EDUCATED or INDOCTRINATED. My wife and I worked two jobs for year's to put our kids in private school. We sacrificed a lot but was well worth it. If you leave your kids in public school. You're hurting their development. FACT.
ReplyDelete