Before You Judge Common Core.....

Come sit in one of our classrooms and see what these kids are capable of!

Just this week I told my students that if a person who had no idea what is really going on in our classrooms came in off the street and witnessed what they had just done...

they.would.be.shocked.

There is so much information out on the web bashing Common Core. Yes, it was developed apparently without much input from actual teachers. Of course this shift in education is putting a lot of money in pockets that don't exactly need more money. Certainly incentivizing teachers based on standardized test scores and value added models of measuring student success is silly and even wrong. Perhaps there is not as much time for creativity in reading and writing.

However, it is not ALL bad.

The idea of testing kids based on their skills for acquiring information from provided sources feels like at least the playing field is more leveled. In theory, if a student has everything they need to answer questions and produce writing right in front of them, doesn't it make sense that everyone has a chance to succeed? As teachers, all we need to do is teach them the skills they need to make this happen.

Skills.

I am in a situation where I am still "judged" by how my students score on a test that is largely content-based. The fact of the matter is, there is not enough time in the years I have them to get to all the content that this test covers. Therefore, all I can really do is teach them some basic test-taking skills and give them a big science overview in the days before they take the test.

It seems it would be more fair to judge my effectiveness as a teacher based on the science skills I am teaching my students. I can't believe I am saying this, but I am envious of the common core-based state tests at this point.

Back to my original point. Before you judge common core, keep in mind that our students are capable of so much more than they are given credit for. The attitude that these standards and tests are too difficult is assuming they will fail before given the chance to even try. Data shows that high expectations lead to better grades and overall performance in school. Why are we so scared to challenge our kids?

Just a thought.

HOWEVER, we do spend entirely too much time testing......

That is all.