Common core not perfect but starting over isn't the answer
Published April 27, 2014
Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, April 26, 2014.
North Carolina school systems have spent the better part of the past three years preparing for yet another seismic shift in education standards and curriculum. Now a group of lawmakers wants to toss out the new standards and empower a commission that would report to the governor to develop new ones.
The Common Core is an attempt, albeit a flawed attempt, to ensure that U.S. students are on par with their counterparts in other states. Since its inception there has been a backlash – sometimes by teachers, sometimes by parents and often by conservative politicians who believe it is an attempt by the federal government to dictate standards and curriculum.
Adding fuel to the debate is the fact that many students who took Common Core-based standardized tests last year saw their proficiency scores drop dramatically from previous years. That was the case in North Carolina, where students were given the new tests for the first time.
Some of that is the effect of a new test, or new standards. Both students and teachers are still learning some of the testing elements. But many parents who have looked at sample questions also have been critical. Just last week The Washington Post featured a letter written to President Obama by a parent who also happens to be an educational specialist. She included a few sample test questions that seem a bit over the head of most students in that particular grade.
Teachers, meanwhile, had to learn a new curriculum and may be challenged to teach differently than they have in the past. The requirement that students read more factual materials has left many an English teacher believing that the standard will be met by minimizing exposure to classic literature and poetry. The level of flexibility varies from district to district.
Let's fix what's broken, starting with the assessment process. Teachers have reason to fear that an increasingly large segment of their job performance reviews will rest with how well their students do on tests. Many parents also have expressed concern that the new standards seem to continue the trend of excess testing and putting too much emphasis on a single test score to assess a student's proficiency.
States and their educators should insist on clear standards, realistic and well-constructed standardized tests, and the flexibility to meet the common standards without being limited to specific textbooks, curricula or teaching methods.
But throwing out the Common Core and starting over with whatever the commission and the State Board of Education come up with will only add to the frustration and confusion that already exists.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with a system that requires students in North Carolina to be as proficient in math and reading as their counterparts in states that typically rank highest in overall academic achievement. They should be proficient in the same things.
North Carolina students are not just competing with their peers in other states, they are competing with the world.
April 27, 2014 at 9:58 am
TP Wohlford says:
How about starting with local community standards, attitudes, values and flaws?
It seems to me that educational outcome is a function of those things.
If the community wouldn't tolerate substandard performance, it won't tolerate bad teachers, bad administrators, and elect bad school boards who hire bad superintendents.
It wouldn't tolerate gang-bangers or drug dealers. IT wouldn't have issues with "baby moms" and "baby daddies" and such. It would encourage kids to be home on school nights, doing homework, and having appropriate bedtimes, not to mention parents who make sure their kid is fed and properly off to school each morning.
Betting that teachers would trade every standard in the world for those few things alone.
