One of the biggest concerning the need for an increase in rigor in instruction in American schools. She discusses that in Poland students must stay in academic classes for an extra year and teachers are paid bonuses to engage in professional development work. She also notes that in Finland they “rebooted their teacher-training colleges, forcing them to become much more selective and rigorous.” In an article written by Sarah Tantillio on Only Good Books, she recognizes the validity of these statements, but comments that in America “the Common Core States Standards, which most states have adopted, they are definitely rigorous, But how they are implemented (and assessed) from state to state and school to school is still a Very Big Question.” Further in her article she points out the large population differences between Finland, Poland, and the United States, and how this affects our education system.
In the article, “Quarrel over Common Core: A Pennsylvania Primer” by Randy Kraft (2014), Common Core and the controversy surrounding it are discussed heavily. Kraft’s thesis is to inform the audience about Common Core and explain, impartially, the arguments for and against it. In 2010, Pennsylvania took on the Common Core Standards. These standards were put in place to ensure that students of Pennsylvania were on the same academic level by graduation, and enable them to be better equipped to compete in a global marketplace (p. 1).
From studying education, I have noticed how many school districts teach based upon what the students will be tested over. As a future educator, I feel as if a standardized test cannot determine what a student is capable of. The individuals creating the test often don’t realize that many students suffer from test anxiety, in fear of failing the test and what is more fearful is how the school districts pressure the teachers to stress to the students the importance of passing the test. Also, in this chapter Boaler describes assessment for learning as having three components clear communication about what students have learned, a way to help students understand where they are on their journey to mastery and where they still need to improve, and information on ways to get from where students are currently to where they need to be to meet success criteria. This chapter offered several strategies that will help students have a better grasp of where they are in the learning process and that will help them develop and maintain a growth mindset.
Is Class TIme a Luxury? Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, a university president and author of the article “Education is Not a Luxury,” argues against the current public education schedule. His key points center around the flaws of an agrarian-based school calendar with 9:00-3:00 hours from September to June. His plan?
A Standard SOS There is a standard SOS. A reform is needed for how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are used to instruct and assess students in K-3rd. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has brought attention to Common Core as having direct and immediate impact on children in the later years of early childhood and potential impact on programs for children prior to Kindergarten (2012, p. 3). According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, the state standards are “a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed,” yet it is the responsibility of local administrators to decide how it will be taught and assessed (2016). Theoretically, it raises
It was discovered that in education there were certain areas that were universal and common among learning. The two main subjects of concern were English language arts and mathematics. Common core is the new curriculum implemented now in school systems to develop learning. Common Core Standards are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for the knowledge and skills students need in English language arts and mathematics at each grade level so they can be prepared to succeed in college, career, and life. Although, Common Core seems to be here to stay this article addresses concerns in reference to content, instruction, and assessment.
Jill Staat UEDU756 December 12, 2016 Annotated Bibliography 3 Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Norland, J. J., Berkeley, S., McDuffie, K., Tornquist, E.H., & Connors, N. (2006). Differentiated curriculum enhancement in inclusive middle school science: Effects on classroom and high-stakes tests. The Journal of Special Education, 40(3), 130-137.
Our current period in education is full of great change and opportunity. Students, teachers, and principals are being challenged to think, learn, and apply in different ways. The Common Core State Standards and technology are the main reasons this time period is so important. These two things are creating, "great opportunities within themselves" (Fullan, p.12, 2014) and at the same time are very challenging because they have "unclear implications for implementation" (Fullan, p.12, 2014). Both Common Core State Standards and technology are very complex and create an exciting time in learning across the educational system however, make it challenging for educators in the U.S. to be effective and implement in a way that maximizes learning.
The state of Texas has been in a constant struggle within itself over just how to evaluate education, and standardized testing in Texas has been a major influencer in terms of the state’s standards for over thirty years. Though these methods of testing have been utilized for decades, resentment to the tests have been continuously rising among educators, parents, and students, but not everyone agrees. Despite government officials trying to quell these protests with changes to administration, and the way the test itself is formatted and formulated, there seems to have been little to no improvement made and those opposing the tests have started calling for an end to all standardized testing. For one to truly understand this ongoing struggle, one must first look at standardized testing’s beginning, then how government today is trying to fix the broken system, and finally consider the opinions of notable figures in the testing world.
In 2009, governors and state commissioners alike came together to formulate the development and implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Through membership organizations such as the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) (http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/frequently-asked-questions/), they were able to create a system that represented a clear-cut caliber of expectations meant for students in kindergarten to grade 12. Over the past several years, new amendments have been added to keep up with the standard that 48 states have adopted into their school systems, although the adoption of the policy was voluntary (http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/frequently-asked-questions/). Despite majority of the states in the U.S. having decided on the policy already, there has been conflict amongst the parents of the children who are subject to the rigorous and exhausting amount of tests they must take to keep up with what is fixed into their school systems. The argument against test-taking is a controversy in itself as many believe
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were put into place to assure that students would be college/career ready straight out of high school. This means that the school system would need a more rigorous curriculum in order to challenge the students. Timothy Shanahan states, “[T]here are no credible studies showing benefits from teaching with instructional level
The current climate of standardized testing creates unreasonable stress for both students and all school staff. While there is a welcome shift to measuring individual and group student progress, as opposed to solely higher overall test scores, there still remains a great deal of pressure due to continued significant consequences for results that are viewed as inadequate. A colleague of mine once shared her view of how state testing could be improved. I have given her perspective a great deal of consideration since our conversation. She proposed that annual state testing, with the exception of those tests that may be given to seniors in high school, should be administered a month or so after the beginning of school.
Nevertheless, schools are facing hard times and taking the loss right where it hurts, the pocketbook. Many states signed up for the new curriculum within only two months, which was not nearly long enough to make sure that the new learning standard was fit for them. By signing up, these states agreed to buy tests and upgrade their technology to administer the tests. All of this added up to thirty dollars per student, more than what half the states can afford. “Common Core Causes Collateral Damage” reveals, “Just last month, Maryland announced it would need $100 million to get schools up to speed to administer the tests”(McShane, 2).
This is a key part in schools today because it’s enforcing a higher bar of achievement for teachers and students (Catapano, 2018). Implementing standards into a school system that are internationally benchmarked means all states and countries have a way of measuring their academic performance. They can use this also as a tool to compile scores and understand the weaknesses to improve students’ knowledge. This provides teachers with various ways to assess their students more frequently through observations and informal assessments to understand the student’s comprehension level of the lesson material. It will help the teachers to strive to improve her test scores by adapting lesson materials to the needs of each
Recently, the Common Core State Standards were developed and kids were going to be tested more than ever. However, all of this education reform has been a failure because our testing scores have not improved, the testing makes children suffer, and it doesn’t improve how teachers teach. Education reforms has had little effect on our testing scores. The average score for a 17 year old student doing a reading test in the beginning of school is 285 and over 40
