Test scores on the new Common Core tests in New York are in and they are not good.
In New York City, 26 percent of students in third through eighth grade passed the tests in English, and 30 percent passed in math, according to the New York State Education Department.
The exams were some of the first in the nation to be aligned with a more rigorous set of standards known as the Common Core, which emphasize deep analysis and creative problem-solving over short answers and memorization. Last year, under an easier test, 47 percent of city students passed in English, and 60 percent in math.
If you are not involved in the education world, you probably don't know that the Common Core roll out is another yet another attempt by the corporatists to control a public institution, in this case, public education. Common Core is supposed to be a set of standards in English Language Arts and Math that will make students college and career ready. Sounds admirable until you find out that the Common Core was written in secret primarily by people who work for test companies.
So who makes up the two Work Groups? Of the 25 individuals on the two teams, (four people are on both) six are associated with the test-makers from the College Board, five are with fellow test-publishers ACT, and four are with Achieve. Zero teachers are on either Work Group. The Feedback Groups have 35 participants, almost all of whom are university professors. There appears to be exactly one classroom teacher involved in the entire process, on one of the Feedback Groups.
Well, if you're tired of the BS that has infiltrated public education, I hope you'll join me at the
Badass Teachers on Facebook
and at Diane Ravitch's blog and daily newsletter of education outrages.