It was discovered that in education there were certain areas that were universal and common among learning. The two main subjects of concern were English language arts and mathematics. Common core is the new curriculum implemented now in school systems to develop learning. Common Core Standards are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for the knowledge and skills students need in English language arts and mathematics at each grade level so they can be prepared to succeed in college, career, and life. Although, Common Core seems to be here to stay this article addresses concerns in reference to content, instruction, and assessment. The questions raised were: 1). Is the content of Common Core State standards appropriate for young children? …show more content…
3). Will the Common Core State Standards lead to the inappropriate use of assessments for young children? The questions posed directed the writers toward comparing Common Core State Standard with Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in order to see how the two practices aligned with one another with the intent of answering each question that was introduced.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice is using knowledge about child development to create a program that is suitable for the age and stage of development for that group of children. At the same time, DAP program considers the needs of the individual child. Although, DAP may be more customized to each student, Common Core gears more towards intended child learning outcomes. One gap between DAP and Common Core is that Developmentally Appropriate Practice applies more to kindergarteners and years prior but there are no standards present beyond kindergarten. Therefore, language supporting DAP would be important in kindergarten and it was discovered that perhaps in first through second grade also. This leads to the first question of whether or not Common Core Standards were appropriate for young children. The use of Common Core and its focus on only two
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Educators worried that Common Core assessment in the classroom would take away from instructional time for students. Teachers also wondered if in early education, children would be tested like older children through pencil/paper or computer-driven assessment. Another point brought out by teachers was if results of Common Core assessment would be used for high-stakes including accountability systems for teachers and programs. Lastly, there was the question of whether or not decisions about students, mainly retention in grade, may be based solely on the results of Common Core assessments. To answer these questions, Common Core researchers reminded teachers that assessment is an ongoing process and in order to improve teaching and learning, teachers must continually engage in assessment for the purpose of improving teaching and learning. With that being said, Common core developers have outlined the approach to assessing. To avoid layering on top of other assessments already being used, teachers and administrators will need to examine their assessment approaches so that testing continues to add to, rather than take away from teaching young children. To direct teachers in this approach, they would need to become familiar with the guidelines provided in the Common Core Standards. Next, in reference to assessment results being used for high-stakes such as grade retention, Common Core
This is a key part in schools today because it’s enforcing a higher bar of achievement for teachers and students (Catapano, 2018). Implementing standards into a school system that are internationally benchmarked means all states and countries have a way of measuring their academic performance. They can use this also as a tool to compile scores and understand the weaknesses to improve students’ knowledge. This provides teachers with various ways to assess their students more frequently through observations and informal assessments to understand the student’s comprehension level of the lesson material. It will help the teachers to strive to improve her test scores by adapting lesson materials to the needs of each
From studying education, I have noticed how many school districts teach based upon what the students will be tested over. As a future educator, I feel as if a standardized test cannot determine what a student is capable of. The individuals creating the test often don’t realize that many students suffer from test anxiety, in fear of failing the test and what is more fearful is how the school districts pressure the teachers to stress to the students the importance of passing the test. Also, in this chapter Boaler describes assessment for learning as having three components clear communication about what students have learned, a way to help students understand where they are on their journey to mastery and where they still need to improve, and information on ways to get from where students are currently to where they need to be to meet success criteria. This chapter offered several strategies that will help students have a better grasp of where they are in the learning process and that will help them develop and maintain a growth mindset.
“A basic Common Core idea is that the standards are supposed to emphasize depth over breadth, ensure students really master concepts, and build on previous learning (“scaffolding” is the term some educators prefer) (Paulson).” In other words, content is not taught by the “mile wide and an inch deep” idiom that represents what has been employed in the past. Instead, students are given more time to learn content specific objectives which provide a more solid foundation for future
With over one million signatures and comments from parents against the program, there has been little progress with the disputes they have made. Some claim that education should be left entirely out of the hands of the government, with little to no interference in how classrooms are run or taught. The belief that the education of a child is best left in the hands of those closest are the best to make the decisions, rather than federal acts. The Common Core is a substandard arrangement of benchmarks which negatively affect instructor assessments, school responsibility measures, instructional procedures, educational modules, subsidizing, intercessions for low-performing schools, and school tests
Our current period in education is full of great change and opportunity. Students, teachers, and principals are being challenged to think, learn, and apply in different ways. The Common Core State Standards and technology are the main reasons this time period is so important. These two things are creating, "great opportunities within themselves" (Fullan, p.12, 2014) and at the same time are very challenging because they have "unclear implications for implementation" (Fullan, p.12, 2014). Both Common Core State Standards and technology are very complex and create an exciting time in learning across the educational system however, make it challenging for educators in the U.S. to be effective and implement in a way that maximizes learning.
The California Department of Education (CDE) 5th grade curriculum and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are designed to outline what students should know and comprehend by the end of the 5th grade school year. Each discipline has a brief overview of what the fourth grader should know before entering the next grade level, along with a description of 5th grade standards for each discipline. The curriculum makes up nine sections that covers the content, communication style, ways to support struggling readers and support for English learners. All curriculums are updated and revised by the Department of Education to align with the standards and to provide guidance to educators, parents, and publishers. This formative evaluation is done to make
Common Core Mathematic Standards have been under evaluation because of a debate between college professors, some who feel the standards are not substantial enough to prepare students for the college degree. It is a teacher’s responsibility to prepare their students for the next level. Even many supporters believe that the Common Core State Standards have many flaws and should be evaluated. With that being stated, the board that constructed the standards made mention that the cause for these flaws is because they focused so much on the K-8 standards that they ran out of time. Because of this short time, they ended up having to rush to work sure the K-8 plus or High School Standards were completed, meaning they had less time to truly think them through.
Why Common Core Standards Should Be More Common Why would students not want to be on a level playing field in their education? Why would they not want to be able to move seamlessly between states? These opportunities are given to students by Common Core. Although many opponents may say that these standards are a barrier of creativity, the Common Core Standards being accepted in all fifty states would help America, because it would have teachers across state borders instructing similar lesson plans, it would decrease the achievement gap, and it would better prepare students for college and the workforce by teaching them the needed materials for their futures.
They must be the primary means of determining the yearly performance of the state, each school district, and each school in meeting the act's academic achievement standards. The achievement standards must be aligned with state content standards, and have three levels of achievement or mastery - basic, proficient, and advanced. (Common Core State Standards Initiative) Any test administered must be the same for all children (there are allowable accommodations for certain students); be aligned with state content and achievement standards; provide coherent information about students' attainment of the standards; and be valid and reliable for the purposes for which they are used and consistent with relevant nationally recognized professional and technical standards (Yell). Tests must objectively measure achievement, knowledge, and skills and not evaluate personal or family beliefs or disclose personally identifiable information.
It is a set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. In contrast teachers feel, “U.S. public school teachers if they are experiencing each of seven possible emotional reactions to the new curriculum standards initiative” Based on a new poll, 65% said they are worried and 62% frustrated. Nearly half agreed they feel hopeful, but relatively few said they feel confident (27%) or enthusiastic (20%).” According to the article (“Teachers Feel
Assessments are a teacher’s tool that builds a profile on student’s growth and are the “tell-tell” detectors that provide the with teacher information on a student who may need additional services in and beyond the
The specials teachers such as the gym teacher and the art teacher and so on do a fun fitness program with the children where they can play on the playground until 8:30. All the third grade teachers meet in the conference room and discuss their instruction and get feedback from their fellow 3rd grade teachers. When mentioning what activities are available to address common standards and their impact on instruction, my host teacher mentioned that "Through collaboration, by grade level and school-wide, we have modified our assessments, lessons, and instruction to target common core." ( H.R personal communication, June 15,2017 ) My host teacher mentioned that all of her instruction comes from common.
Justin Murphy’s writing on, “More Parents Keeping Kids From State Tests” is in favor for the new Common Core ELA tests. It begins by stating the huge reason as to why many people are against these tests. A strong link is made between students and teachers on the attack for the new tests and that link lies in the student’s test scores and teacher evaluations. Since the scores can be linked to how well a teacher has taught a subject, the teachers themselves are angry because the low test scores their students receive, reflect the teachers’ efforts. Charter schools and business organizations are supporters of the state testing regime.
Students need assessment that is balanced between what they already know, and what teachers want them to know. Rather than a test with the same questions, even if the questions are leveled differently for all students, the questions should address where a student is struggling, so that each and every American schoolchild would have the chance to reach their full
Recently, the Common Core State Standards were developed and kids were going to be tested more than ever. However, all of this education reform has been a failure because our testing scores have not improved, the testing makes children suffer, and it doesn’t improve how teachers teach. Education reforms has had little effect on our testing scores. The average score for a 17 year old student doing a reading test in the beginning of school is 285 and over 40