Update: April 16, 2013 Below is a reply I received from the Assistant Superintendent of Schools in New Rochelle. I had asked what New Rochelle was doing to comply with the Common Core requirements. As a second follow-up I have asked about the Regents courses since starting next year the Regents exams will be incorporating Common Core Concepts. My original article is also below.
“For the past two years, the administrators and faculty in each of our elementary and middle schools have been studying the NYS Common Core and aligning their instructional program so that students will achieve these “college-ready” standards. Curriculum maps and scope and sequence documents for English Language Arts (ELA) and Math have been prepared by each individual school based on framework documents that were developed by the District for both of these content areas. The selection of specific instructional resource materials is made at the school rather than the district level.”
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Korostoff
Assistant Superintendent
In Westchester Guardian.com April 4,2013
It didn’t take long for the New York State teachers’ union to respond to the State Education Commissioner John King’s News and Notes of March 25, 2013. King stated three years ago the Regents Reform Agenda was planned to prepare students to succeed in college and careers. The most important element of that agenda was the “shift to the Common Core Standards.” These standards which are now being adopted throughout the country had been approved in 2011 by the Board of Regents for English Language Arts and Literacy, and for Mathematics along with a new set of Pre-Kindergarten standards.
King also stated that students in grades 3-8 will take the new Common Core assessments (tests) and by 2014 Regents Exams will start to incorporate the Common Core standards. In his view students are “already accountable” to Common Core learning. His concern centered on an analysis which determined that at the present time only 35% of high school graduates are ready for college or careers. However, he added these findings do not imply student learning has declined. Teaching students using the Common Core criteria will prepare students more realistically for the world after high school.
An article by Yasmeen Khan in “In School Book” addressed parents who were concerned that these more difficult Common Core Standards and tests would make it much harder, especially for special education students, to obtain high school diplomas. This is a nation-wide concern since 45 states have adopted the Common Core standards. Earlier in the month (March 1) the Post Standard (Syracuse) had reported that since New York State was one of the first states to not only adopt the Common Core but to use these standards to create tests, school officials expected lower test scores this year. Florida, Georgia and Kentucky have adopted the Common Core standards and have reported lower test scores. So it was not surprising that the New York State Teachers announced they will begin a protest against these new Common Core state tests to evaluate teachers or students.
The state has a “list of shifts” in instruction with the Common Core. In Language Arts these include for Kindergarten to Grade 5, “Planning information with literacy trends” and in Grades 6-12, “Knowledge of Disciplines.” These shifts are further outlined for: “staircase of complexity, text based answers, writing from sources, and academic vocabulary.” Two units for grades 6-12 are titled, “Reading closely for text and details” and “Making Evidence Based Claims.” In Mathematics six characteristics of the Common Core are listed: “focus, coherence, fluency, deep understanding, application and dual intensity.”
A look at the items that evaluators must use to determine whether potential mathematics questions are satisfactory for use on a test has a list of 44 separate criteria listed. How is it possible to judge a question in mathematics in 44 categories?
This was the process used to decide the questions used on the state tests according to the state’s web site.
The state teachers’ union followed up with up with a full page in the Journal News (3/28/13) to state their case to the community and especially parents. They sum up the problem: “Testing in New York State isn’t being done right.” While they support the Common Core, they explain, “Done right” they can strengthen teaching and learning. Because the State is pushing the Common Core standards, testing of students will occur before they are taught using materials and instruction on the Common Core.
Parents and children under these circumstances do not deserve the stress this lack of proper preparation will create. Commissioner King acknowledged scores will drop. The claim by some experts is scores will drop 30%. The teachers have an especially compelling reason to object to this year’s test scores because these test results will also be used to evaluate teacher effectiveness. And this year their opposition to Common Core tests do not seem unreasonable. They rightfully claim they are committed “to get it done right.”