Probably the most politically-charged issue in American education in recent years has been the Common Core State Standards. This blog has covered CCSS over that time, here and here and here and here, just as a few examples. This issue has again come to the fore because of the Presidential Read more
Marc Tucker of the National Center on Education and the Economy wants the U.S. to reform the way that it approaches its instructional core. By this, he means “the combination of state-mandated standards, curriculum frameworks, course syllabi, instructional materials, and tests and examinations that together define and measure what students Read more
As we move into the 2015-16 school year, the standards and assessments landscape is continuing to shift. State legislative and executive actions over the past year have resulted in changes to how, when – and in some cases, if – districts and schools will implement Common Core and aligned-assessments. An Read more
2014-2015 was the first year in which states rolled out Common Core aligned, value-added tests. These tests promised to be better at evaluating the real progress (or lack of progress) that students are making than previous tests because they would be computerized and therefore able to include more interactive types Read more
Chester Finn of Education Excellence has written a post on the Common Core Watch blog where he broaches the issue that many education professionals have been contemplating but not talking openly about much: are we actually going to get anything useful out of the first batch of Common Core aligned Read more
As more and more states have adopted Common Core in recent years, teachers have needed aligned materials and curriculum. Many schools and districts have evaluated traditional privately-created curriculum which claim to align with Common Core and have not liked what they found. As a result, some schools and districts are Read more
A new report by the education reform organization Achieve finds large “honesty gaps” between state-reported proficiency rates in math and reading compared to those on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which is also known as the Nation’s Report Card. The report, Proficient vs. Prepared: Disparities Between State Tests Read more
The Common Core State Standards began in 2009 as a state-led effort to measure the nation’s students against a shared benchmark. At first, the standards received broad acceptance. But as the standards rolled out–and as they continue to roll out–the Common Core has become a political football. With all of Read more
The Leadership Conference Education Fund, Hager Sharp Inc., and ORC International have collaborated to conduct a national survey among U.S. adults about their awareness, knowledge and attitudes regarding standards in public K-12 education. The survey broadly explores their expectations of public education and also includes questions pertaining specifically to the Read more
Education professional Steve Peha has a new newsletter out discussing the ongoing fears and debates surrounding the Common Core. While Peha is in no way one of the more vocal and enthusiastic backers of the Common Core, he does still support it because “we may end up at least one Read more
Two groups made important announcements recently: EdReports.org ( http://www.edreports.org/discussions/webinars/webinar-results-instructional-materials.html ) released an analysis of math textbooks’ alignment to the Common Core State Standards, and Michigan State University’s Dr. William Schmidt released the Textbook Navigator Journal (http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2015/msu-researcher-launches-common-core-tool-for-teachers/), a tool that enables educators to locate the lessons in 34 mathematics textbook series Read more
States should focus more on setting high performance standards than on debating the content of their academic standards. This is according to a new report out from the American Institutes for Research. THE ISSUE Content standards, not performance standards, have been almost the sole focus of state policies and recent Read more
Education non-profit GreatSchools is out with videos in English and Spanish that detail Common Core expectations for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The short videos are meant to help educators and parents better understand what children should know how to do and when. For example, the math videos for Read more
James S. Murphy of Princeton Review, writing for The Atlantic, recently penned an article about the new SAT based on new sample questions which the College Board released. Murphy is encouraged by the changes that the SAT is making away from its obscure vocabulary focus and away from abstract essays, Read more
Achieve recently announced the release of Classroom Sample Assessment Tasks for middle and high school grades. These sample tasks, written by secondary science and math teachers, provide examples of how content and practices from both the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics Read more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is asking businesses to pledge their support for the Common Core State Standards in a new video. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation has announced the release of its latest video in support of the Common Core State Standards, Make Their Minds Fly. This Read more