|
|
The
views expressed
on this page are soley those of the author and do not
necessarily
represent the views of County News Online
|
 |
The Daily Signal
Why
Massachusetts Gave Up on Common Core
Mary Clare Reim
November 23, 2015
The state Board of Education in Massachusetts has decided to retreat
from common core and develop its own state tests—to the dismay of
Common Core advocates.
It comes as no surprise that a “top-down, one-size-fits-all” approach
to education is not working for the people of Massachusetts.
Interestingly, this policy reversal comes at the recommendation of
Mitchell Chester, one of Common Core’s main architects. When a
program’s leading advocate admits that it is not working, it is time to
give that program a second look.
The sentiment held in Massachusetts is shared by parents, students,
teachers, and school administrators all over the country. A recent poll
found that approval for common core plummeted to 46 percent among
teachers in 2014, a 30-point drop from 2013. Approval among parents
indicates a similar pattern, with overall approval rates dropping from
65 percent in 2013 to 53 percent in 2014.
A recent poll found that approval for common core plummeted to 46
percent among teachers in 2014
For instance, students in Massachusetts are drastically different from
students in Nevada and therefore require a different set of tests and
curricula. Therefore, restoring control to states and localities to
make informed choices for their communities will better ensure
education quality.
Common Core has fallen under particularly harsh scrutiny after the
National Association for Educational Progress (NAEP) released
especially dismal results for 2015.
While Massachusetts has prided itself on its consistently high
standardized test performance, their 2015 NAEP results showed declines
in almost every category of testing. Massachusetts’ 8th grade math
assessment dropped to its lowest average score since 2005, with 8th
grade reading falling to 2009 levels. Massachusetts was not alone in
its declining performance.
Since NAEP started its testing in the early 1990s, most states have
seen slow but consistent progress. However, this year’s scores took a
unexpected dip after almost 20 years of progress.
Russ Whitehurst at The Brookings Institution found a statistically
significant link between state adoption of Common Core and lower NAEP
scores. While some argue that the decline in test scores may simply be
because students and teachers need to adjust to a new system,
Whitehurst writes that “the modest correlation suggests that more is
going on than disruptions in instruction associated with the rollout of
a new assessment system.”
Neal McClusky of the Cato Institute came to a similar conclusion—“that
the states that never adopted the Core outperformed the average could
indicate that the disruption theory is correct: foregoing the
transition to the Core enabled better performance.”
As Common Core faces harsh criticism in light of recent NAEP scores and
pushback from policy makers, it is time for more states to consider
going the route of Massachusetts and say “no thanks” to Common Core
State Standards.
Read this and other articles with links at The Daily Signal
|
|
|
|
