Examining The Issues Surrounding Common Core
...............................................................................................................................
Capitol Confidential ^ | 10/3/2013 | Jack Spencer
Common Core, a set of education standards that reportedly would bring uniformity to school curriculums across the nation, passed the Michigan House on Thursday.
The “Common Core Concurrent Resolution,” (HCR 11) passed on an 85-21 vote. A Senate committee hearing on the measure is expected this week.
According to the state Legislative Service Bureau, HCR 11 would: "authorize the State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education to move forward to expend resources to implement the use of the Common Core State Standards so long as the conditions of this resolution can be met."
Gov. Rick Snyder, the Michigan Education Association and the pro-schools-of-choice Great Lakes Education Project, among others, support the Common Core standards. But the issue remains contentious for many.
Melanie Kurdys What is Common Core?
"Simplistically, Common Core is a set of standards and assessments that define what students should know and be able to do at each grade level Kindergarten through 12th grade in Math and English Language Arts (ELA - reading and writing). The complexity comes in when you look at how the standards and assessments were developed, the content of the standards themselves, the aligned teacher supports and the control factor of the assessments.
"First, let's talk about how the standards were developed. All states were required to develop K-12 standards and assessments in the No Child Left Behind law. Some states did a better job than others as documented by The Fordham Institute in its 2010 analysis. Basically, as a country, we had a 10-plus year base of experience from 50 different states to look at to find standards and assessments that worked, which might be used to develop a national model.
"Instead, five people of questionable credentials got together and wrote standards pretty much from scratch with a bunch of new ideas that had never been used in practice to establish a base of evidence. They then set up a series of committees for 'validation and review,' using a process that has no published documentation, such as meeting minutes. Many qualified reviewers refused to approve the standards, including Dr. Sandra Stotsky and Dr. James Milgram. Although others have approved the standards, no one has yet made public any evidence that these new ideas will improve student achievement. At best, as MSU Prof. William Schmidt claims, they 'may' improve student achievement. No one has signed off on the assessments yet because they are still being developed. Bottom line: Common Core Standards are a massive education experiment."
h. Common Core is owned and copyrighted by a private trade association, the National Governors Association."
Rep. Tom McMillin
What are your concerns about Common Core?
"My biggest problem with [it] is that we, in Michigan, don't control the content of the standards. Back in 2010 when Common Core was finalized, the leaders of the effort declared the importance of deciding on a governing structure; how changes to the standards would be made. They purposefully have not decided, because when they do, it will be very clear that states are not in control of the standards taught in each of their schools. So at this point, Michigan and 44 other states have agreed to this nationalization of our education system.
"There are many other problems with Common Core. The standards are not age appropriate in earlier years, especially K-3. They are greatly reducing the amount of classical literature students will be expected to read. Parts of it, like geometry, are just very illogical and confusing. Also, the Common Core testing is financed and overseen by the federal government and is very much about data collection and data mining.
"The favorite mantra of Common Core supporters is that it isn't curriculum. If that were true, then why are school districts all buying new Common Core-aligned curriculum? Further, when you tie Common Core with the federally financed, national tests that are specifically aligned to the standards, then you clearly are dictating curriculum. Teaching to the test is a fact, especially when the stakes like the grading and evaluating of teachers, schools, districts and states are high."
Melanie Kurdys What are your concerns about Common Core?
"Common Core Standards and Assessments will not improve student achievement in Michigan and may be detrimental to our children. We are asked to defer to the 'educational experts,' but many of them disagree. We usually defer to the 'medical experts,' but we are familiar with the rigorous processes in medicine to test new ideas before they become widely used. Experiments involve control groups, patient options on whether or not to participate, carefully evaluated outcomes, and long-term studies. None of these are present in the implementation of Common Core.
"Research shows two things consistently overcome all hurdles to improve student achievement: engaged parents and excellent teachers.
Common Core disengages parents. The new standards were approved without parental involvement. In fact, Achieve CEO Michael Cohen admitted in Michigan testimony that the standards were not written with parents in mind. The new teaching methods put parents in the awkward position of not even being able to help elementary students with their homework.
Efforts to engage teachers and administrators in conversations about Common Core are responded to with icy stares, brick walls and an occasional expulsion of the parent.
Excellent teachers who have been using effective educational strategies for years are being forced to change. Their professional judgment is disregarded, even ridiculed.
"Over 500 early childhood professionals have signed a letter indicating the Common Core K-3 standards are developmentally inappropriate.
"There are many other concerns with Common Core, including student data privacy, the move to measure student values, attitudes and beliefs, the increased role of the federal government in the education of Michigan children, the high cost of implementation and on-going support, the underlying political message in the new materials and the lack of transparency to the process are all valid (concerns) and must be addressed." |
