The current issue of Education Week has a good article worth reading and reflecting upon. It concerns the Common Core Standards and the opposition in some states to those standards.
There are three problems associated with the Common Core Standards:
- Teaching to the Common Core is difficult;
- Assessing mastery of the Common Core is difficult;
- Most people believe the Common Core Standards have a lot of merit, but the standards represent a “hot political potato” in conservative states.
Vocal governors try to make political hay in shouting out their opposition – with the only goal in their minds being a potential run for the presidency.
Such statesmanship!
States that have repealed the Common Core Standards are finding themselves in a bit of difficulty with an equal or better replacement. Some states trumpet opposition to “Critical Thinking.” (Hello, Texas!)
But, fundamentally, there seems to be hope – hope that some depth of teaching and learning will be implemented beyond the process of teaching to the standardized test. Perhaps there is a trend for parents around the country to seeing the wisdom in teaching children how to think rather than just gain competence in selecting one of the five multiple choice answers to a standardized test question.
We can only hope.
Leave a Reply