Core standards will boost equal opportunity
“Millions of young people are having their right to a world-class education violated every day, writes sociologist Peter W. Cookson Jr, president of Ideas Without Borders, in The Quick and the Ed....
View ArticleCutting to the core on scores
In the era of Common Core State Standards, all high school graduates are supposed to be ready for college or careers. That means the new tests must measure grade-level readiness in every grade, writes...
View ArticleKindergarten demands ‘algebraic thinking’
Kindergarten is too tough for little kids these days, New York City teachers complain to the Post. Way beyond the ABCs, crayons and building blocks, the city Department of Education now wants 4- and...
View ArticleWill ‘drill and grill’ replace kindergarten play?
Rigorous new Common Core standards endanger young children by requiring “long hours of direct instruction in literacy and math” and more standardized testing, argue Edward Miller, a teacher, and Nancy...
View ArticleThe ‘me’ curriculum teaches nothing
The “me” curriculum is undermining learning, writes Mark Bauerlein, an Emory professor, in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In its attempt to implement Common Core’s new standards, the Georgia...
View ArticleFinn’s math: One (correct) solution is enough
“Huck Finn” is subbing for math teachers who are away from class learning how to teach to the new Common Core standards. Finn worries that teachers will be told to require students to find multiple...
View ArticleFordham: New science standards need work
Next Generation Science Standards are coming fast. Public comment on draft 2.0 just ended. The final version is due out in March. Then states will be urged to adopt NGSS, as most did Common Core State...
View ArticleGates targets education policy
The Gates Foundation, with a whopping $37 billion in assets, is spending more to influence education policy, writes Joy Pullman in Heartlander Magazine. The foundation funds “myriad seemingly...
View ArticlePrincipals, teachers report more stress
Three-fourths of principals say the job has become “too complex,” reports MetLife’s new Survey of the American Teacher. And the number of “very satisfied” teachers has hit a new low. Most principals...
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Without books at home, few read well
Children raised in low-income families have few age-appropriate books in their homes, according to First Book, which gives books to disadvantaged children to encourage reading. The infographic is...
View ArticleCore math adds coherence, rigor, focus
Common Core’s new math standards “have the potential to improve average student achievement” by adding focus, rigor and coherence, predict William H. Schmidt and Nathan A. Burroughs in the new...
View ArticleKindergarten, play and standards
Teachers are blaming new standards for taking the joy out of kindergarten, writes Deborah Kenny, a charter school founder in New York City, in the Washington Post. Kindergartners should learn by...
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The bigotry of low (teacher) expectations
Common Core Standards didn’t invent effective teaching, writes Julie Greenberg in The bigotry of low (teacher) expectations in the National Council on Teacher Quality’s blog. She objects to step 5 in...
View ArticleConservatives can like the Common Core
Conservatives should support the Common Core standards, write Kathleen Porter-Magee and Sol Stern, who describe themselves as “education scholars at two right-of-center think tanks” (Fordham and the...
View ArticleTeachers hit computer-scored writing exams
New tests aligned to the new common standards will ask students to do more writing and provide quick feedback to teachers on their students’ skills. But that’s only cost effective, if students’ writing...
View ArticleCore standards: It’s not about the benjamins
Democratic state senators in Pennsylvania have come out against Common Core State Standards “without adequate state financial resources,” reports Ed Week. It’s not about the benjamins, responds Marc...
View ArticleIt’s not PC or censorship
Common Core State Standards “and standardized testing are trying to make teachers into KAPOs, a Nazi concentration camp prisoner who was given privileges if they would supervise work gangs,” wrote a...
View ArticleJindal and the irony of local control
Governor Jindal is determined to pull Louisiana out of the Common Core. He wants “Louisiana standards and a Louisiana test” for Louisiana kids. But here’s the rub: Louisiana’s top education officials...
View ArticleBack to Balanced Literacy in NYC?
To those familiar with the history of New York City schools, this should come as no surprise: NYC schools chancellor Carmen Fariña is pushing for a return to Balanced Literacy, which she has long...
View ArticleCommon Core math: deep or dull?
According to a New York Times article by Motoko Rich, parents and students are finding Common Core math not only confusing but tedious and slow. To promote “conceptual” learning, many Core-aligned...
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