Common Core is the federal government’s largest attempt to establish nationwide educational standards for all students in all grade levels in the subjects of reading and math. Proponents of Common Core argue that the standards ensure that students are ready for college or career success upon high school graduation. The standards can also serve as a diagnostic tool to gauge the academic standing of individual students, schools and districts. Resources can be better allocated towards individuals and schools that may be underperforming. Progress can be measured by assessing the extent to which individuals and schools meet the standards.
Common Core Mathematic Standards have been under evaluation because of a debate between college professors, some who feel the standards are not substantial enough to prepare students for the college degree. It is a teacher’s responsibility to prepare their students for the next level. Even many supporters believe that the Common Core State Standards have many flaws and should be evaluated. With that being stated, the board that constructed the standards made mention that the cause for these flaws is because they focused so much on the K-8 standards that they ran out of time. Because of this short time, they ended up having to rush to work sure the K-8 plus or High School Standards were completed, meaning they had less time to truly think them through. Despite all of the criticism that the Standards have taken, forty-two states and the District of Columbia have adopted them, and will be placing them in order soon.
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
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. The questions raised were: 1). Is the content of Common Core State standards appropriate for young children?
The Common Core Standards were a set of guidelines provided by the federal government to help direct how the public schools taught their students. The Government did this in hopes that no students would be “left behind” in the school curriculum and that the national average for the test scores would increase. There was backlash from parents and teachers complaining that the Common Core was not preparing their children for anything past high school. These students would only be taught to recite facts that they have memorized on the excessive amount of tests. The Common core would force children to only use lower level thinking skills rather than learning a topic in depth and actually thinking past the factual level, ruining their chances at
States that have Common Core implemented have seen a decline in student test scores and achievement. This is shown in one of the states with the earliest implementation of Common Core, Kentucky. Kentucky has seen a decline in their student achievement since the implementation of Common Core. This shows that Common Core needs significant improvements, or needs to be removed completely. One parent stated that “Our children who were testing in the 80th or higher percentile in math last year, are now coming home with C’s, D’s, and F’s on their report cards” (Lamoreaux).
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).
The United States Common Core State Standards for Education The Common Core State Standards is a controversial subject among educators, parents and general public. What most people do not realize is state standards have been around since the 1900’S, and every state has had their own standards in the early 2000’s. Each state standard has levels or benchmarks, which state what the student should be proficient in per grade level. Most of these standards are in place for third grade through high school.
Trump is against “Common Core”, I believe that if we are going to give all the effort we have to educate ourselves then Common Core shouldn’t be a problem to discuss. According to dictionary.com, “Education is developing the powers of reasoning and judgment.” Either getting a high school education or college education, it will help you make important decisions in the work force. The objective of Common Core was for those students that struggle with a language barrier or need extra help learning new information. Although there are always those students who are smart, but don’t want to endure any effort, then they won’t use all of their
Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), an reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) under Lyndon B. Johnson administration’s War of Poverty. The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to administer an annual assessment, and ensure that schools are making Adequate Yearly Progress, a set of measuring tool to determine if schools are successful. One of the primary goals of the No Child Left Behind Act is to close the students’ achievement gaps by 2014 through the four main pillars: stronger accountability for results, more flexibility for states, more choices for parents, and proven education methods. (U.S Department of Education, 2004) However, the NCLB is exacerbating the gaps with its strong emphasis on the use of standardized testing as a measurement.
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
Even with all the cons associated with the Common Core Standards, I think the new Common
Common Core is a program set on improving the American education system, but in reality it is ruining it. Many problems have been found with it including educational difficulties. Education must be improved, so that America can still compete with other countries. One reason to remove Common Core is because it causes difficulty in basic comprehension.
Schools in America take a test each year called the standardized test, which is a tool used to measure the effectiveness of the school, the teacher, and the performance of the student. However, “standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid- 1800s. Their use sky rocketed after 2002’s No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual testing in all 50 states” (Standardized Tests - ProCon.org.).
In my opinion, public educational curriculums and accountability guidelines should be established at the state and local levels where parents/guardians play an integral role in the decision making process. I do not believe standardized tests alone are an accurate measure of a student’s knowledge; their classwork, projects, and literary works also represent a student’s talent and capabilities. In agreement with Robert Schaeffer, a representative for the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, that federal mandated programs such as the No Child Left Behind and The Race to The Top high-stakes tests foster the temptation to cheat because they serve as means to both punish and reward students, teachers, and principals based solely upon test scores (Schaeffer,