By Tom
Over the weekend, the Washington State Democratic Party passed a resolution opposing the Common Core State Standards. This is a pretty big deal, given that the primary opposition to the Common Core has been from Republicans. But while Republican opposition focuses mostly on federal intrusion into state matters, Democratic opposition is mostly a reaction to over-testing and big businesses who profit on that over-testing. Were Washington to drop the Common Core, it would be significant; it’s not only a solid blue state, it’s also the home state of the Gates Foundation, which has backed the new standards since the beginning.
This is a surprising development.
First of all, no matter what you think of the Common Core, you have to hand it to the people behind this resolution. They are an intrepid group. According to their Website, they’ve been working on this project for a year, lining up their ducks and putting the pieces into place. It’s a group of concerned parents, activist teachers and progressive Democrats and it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere soon. We can probably expect anti-Common Core bills in both the House and the Senate in the very near future.
There’s still a long way to go, of course, before any change in policy. Anything can happen in the legislature. But there’s absolutely no way for anyone who supports the Common Core to see this as anything but bad news. It doesn’t bode well, especially since the Republicans have already come out in opposition to the Common Core and especially since Patty Murray, one of our US Senators, is trying to get the ball rolling on rewriting NCLB. She’s made it clear that she still supports yearly testing, and the only tests we have these days are the ones that are pegged to the Common Core.
As a teacher, I find this whole mess extremely frustrating. Like most districts, mine rolled out new curriculum in both math and ELA just before the Common Core was written. So, like everyone else, I’ve spent the last five years trying to figure out how to teach to the Common Core with materials that don’t quite fit. It’s been a struggle, but I’m getting there. I’ve also worked hard to get my students prepared for the SBAC, the Common Core-aligned test used in Washington State.
And quite frankly, I like these standards. They make sense. They might not be perfect, but they’re better than the ones we used to have and they’re sure better than what hasn’t been proposed by the people who want to get rid of the Common Core.
We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Teachers – and students – have enough to work on without having to abandon everything we’ve done over the last five years and refocus on another set of standards. And while I admire the idealism and determination of the folks who got this resolution passed, I resent their ultimate goal.
We’ve adopted the Common Core. Let’s focus on implementing it.
Some follow-up thoughts:
1. There’s really no way to visualize going forward in education without some type of standards. Teachers at each grade level need to know what they’re expected to teach and to what degree of depth. I think we can all agree on that.
2. Given that we need standards, it seems to follow that kids in each state should have the same standards. At least in the “core” subjects. That’s the only way to ensure that students from every state can compete for jobs or college slots in every state. That was the overriding premise for the Common Core and THAT was why 46 states adopted them.
3. The only way to ensure that students have reached those standards is through some type of assessment. And again, that was the premise of the two widely-used assessments, SBAC and PARCC.
The Common Core and the accompanying assessments are not perfect. The shift in teaching from what we used to do to those standards will be uncomfortable. Change always is.
But let’s give it time. Remember, it’s only been five years since the standards were written, and in Washington they’ve only been officially in place for one year. This will take time.
I am not a fan of SBAC testing (11 partial days of testing for my 3rd graders starting in March!), but I do agree fully that the CCSS math standards are age-appropriate for my students (Title 1 school, as well). I think raising the bar and putting more emphasis on teaching the “whys” of mathematics, and going in depth into certain concepts has been very successful with my students over the past few years. I also appreciate having less concepts to cover in a year too. I think the math practices are a nice addition, as these are components of what makes a strong mathematician. Parents who are opposed to the new standards seem to be unhappy with the constructivist approach, which has been in place in our district for 15-20 years now. Explaining your thinking, using place value knowledge to solve work versus going through rote steps, etc. is just not comfortable to them. I love hearing from my open 3rd grade parents who say they are relearning math along with their child, and how fractions make more sense to them and they never really thought of breaking apart a multiplication problem into two smaller problems and adding them together!
On the other hand, I feel that many of the 3rd grade ELA standards for reading and writing are not age-appropriate (or should I say the testing questions and performance tasks instead of standards??). I feel like I have way more to cover now, as the list of standards for each grade level is much longer and more specific than what we have had in the past. Trying to get everything in a 2.5 hour literacy block (reading, writing, word study) is not enough time to dig deep into these standards, but is it right to spend half your day or longer just on literacy? Where is the balance in that? Most third grade students are just becoming more fluent readers who might have a handle on basic story elements and comprehension. To expect them to analyze character traits, feelings, and motivations using evidence from the text, compare and contrast to two texts on the same topic using point – counterpoint sentences using evidence from the text (SBAC expectation), read a fable and identify it’s theme, and then write a fable of their own with a similar theme and making sure to include characteristics of a fable in their story (performance task), is too rigorous for most. I have 2/6 of my highly capable students who can meet these standards now, so I feel the bar is too high to realistically be reached. The student exemplars for writing in 3rd grade look more in line with what I have seen as 5th-6th grade writing examples in the past (6 trait samples).
Merideth, please indicate which Math curriculum you utilize for the 3rd graders? What school district or area of the state/county are you in? Our group compares lots of curricula examples. Thank you
Thank you for the specifics, Meredith.
Here’s something I can totally agree with, from Cathy above:
“Parents all over the country are asking for lawmakers and legislatures to reject any reauthorization of ESEA/NCLB that continues annualized testing aligned with state standards and that attaches high-stakes consequences for teachers or schools to the scores that children achieve on those tests.
Stop mandating testing at the federal level and return the decision making back to the states. Stop punishing schools, teachers and students by implementing unrealistic standards and expectations.
This system is failing and it is hurting our children.”
I agree absolutely with the testing issues. I’d prefer the federal level disengage completely from the testing push. I have less of an issue with the standards themselves. I understand the opposition about big money being involved, but as both a parent of a pre-K, 1st grader and 4th grader, and as a teacher, I do believe that the standards themselves are not the problem; the problem is rushed, botched implementation…which is often due to fear (related to testing) or the assumption that we have to buy something stamped common core in order to teach to the standards. I have taught “the common core” for three years now (HS ELA…don’t be mislead by my rambling writing here :)) and have yet to spend a penny on curriculum, materials, or even explicit training on the standards. Everything I need I can find for free online and vet for validity, or create myself. I still get a dozen emails a day from vendors promising to help me help my kids master the common core (and help me line their pockets). They’ve not gotten a dime from me…and this side industry profiting off of the system is more concerning to me than the language of the standards, or even who wrote them.
Back to my own kids…My 4th grader, for example, has a teacher who really understands the kind of thinking that the CC standards aim to promote, she implements it well, and my son is soaring as a result. He is able to attack math dilemmas from multiple angles, articulate his thought-processes well, problem-solve creatively and persevere. The assignments that get posted online as proof of how awful Common Core math (for example) is are examples of botched delivery on the part of a (likely undersupported and overworked) teacher or a predatory company who sold some school a pack of poorly constructed worksheets stamped Common Core.
Ultimately, the standards become a distraction from the real issue as to why I believe our system is failing: we are simply not supported. Schools are not given appropriate resources, teachers are not provided time and training, and children are crowded into classroom like some commodity in need of storage. Take (nearly) any teacher, at any level, and give them adequate time and resources to design, implement, and assess quality lessons to a reasonable-sized class, and it will not matter one iota what the standards are. And by adequate time, I mean the kind of time provided some of our counterparts in other countries (against whom we are always compared)… 50/50 prep/instruction. By staying distracted with arguments about standards, we are missing the real issue: the structure of our school day (for both teachers and students) needs to change. This will cost more than any test or set of standards. Real change costs more than policymakers–or the taxpayers–seem willing to invest.
The Secretary of Education has decided that he and the Federal Government knows what is best for our children and is attempting to dismantle any state and local control of our educational system.
Federal standardized testing is being deliberately being used to set our children and schools up for failure.
Common Core and the high stakes testing connected to it is deeply flawed and was created in part, by people with no background in education. Many so called subject matter and education “experts” from the original workgroups did not even have the opportunity to review and approve the Common Core Standards and a few who did, would not sign off on them. These standards and the curriculum that support them have been proven to be developmentally inappropriate and is harming students. Common core has been shoved down the throats of the states, schools and our children. Many who once supported it have realized their mistake in doing so.
The pressure to “comply” is turning schools into test prep facilities and our teachers and administrators into compliance officers. Creativity, spontaneity and enthusiasm have been crushed by the weight of the common core standards.
Teachers can no longer attend to the needs of individual students. The constant push is to achieve the next standard,often without any foundation or building blocks in place to do so. Some of our most vulnerable students such as English Language Learners and children with special needs are suffering the most.
Everyday, parents are making the decision to remove their children from public school and homeschool. Unfortunately, for many, that is not an option and they are forced to watch their children become disengaged, uninterested, frustrated, and unhappy as well as developing anxiety and stress related health issues. Having children as young as third grade reduced to tears every night during homework time and having anxiety and panic attacks over the stress of facing “high stakes testing” cannot be what we want for students. Add in a case of any kind of special need or learning disability as in my own personal situation, and it’s an even more drastic and disastrous scenario.
I am not afraid of technology, high standards, or, within reason, the evolution of the classroom into a more technology based one. I am afraid that the current path we are taking, leaves little control in the hands of local educators and administrators.
We need a return to a state designed academic achievement assessment system. We need to honor the sovereignty of each individual state. We need to return control of education to individual states, school districts AND parents.
Parents all over the country are asking for lawmakers and legislatures to reject any reauthorization of ESEA/NCLB that continues annualized testing aligned with state standards and that attaches high-stakes consequences for teachers or schools to the scores that children achieve on those tests.
Stop mandating testing at the federal level and return the decision making back to the states. Stop punishing schools, teachers and students by implementing unrealistic standards and expectations.
This system is failing and it is hurting our children.
Tom, there is much discussion in a growing fb group. Washington State Against Common Core. To understand more what many of the now-approaching 2400 members are thinking, why not join it? Even if you don’t comment you can learn why we are against Common Core. Lots of questions about personalized situations, IEP’s, etc. are addressed. We help each other out in navigating the Educational landscape and waters. Many teachers post on there too! There is no greater group of engaged people that I have seen anywhere.
https://stopcommoncorewa.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WAstateAgainstCommonCore/
Interesting thread, I am one that strongly opposes both CCSS and high stakes testing. I am a mother of a 6th grade boy who struggled in the early elementary years and suddenly his 5th grade year something clicked and he began to excel. Imagine our excitement to see his confidence skyrocket and his pride in his work beam like the sun. Then he begins 6th grade and is back to struggling. Not only did the assessments move him to advanced math but the district also introduced the nightmare that is common core. I have watched his confidence wither, his posture droop and the exuberance he ended last year with is now gone. More than ever before he dreads school. We, as a family face 3 to 4 hours of homework most nights. Not because he didn’t finish his tasks at school but just because there is homework for the sake of giving homework. His math book isn’t common core aligned and his teacher, (who is also only now learning common core) is only allowed to present her notes for them to copy. If he doesn’t copy the notes fully he misses the lesson. He comes home and we have no reference material to figure out why random shapes and patterns must now be integrated into the math equation. The lessons are inappropriate for his age and the assessments put him prematurely in an advanced class he wasn’t academically prepared for. The federal government shouldn’t be allowed to barter with my child’s education by dangling funds as a carrot forcing states to implement an unproven very flawed program that is common core. Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch shouldn’t be allowed to line their pockets with the financial gain that comes at the very high price of my child’s confidence and education. I will battle until this albatross of a program is eliminated across the board. It is very detrimental to children and families!
Elizabeth, I totally get the testing angle. I teach high school, and I don’t see the rigidity in the standards that you wrote about. I mean this genuinely, not as some internet fight-picker (since that’s not how we operate on StoriesFromSchool), what are some examples of the rigidity that you see? Even if we don’t end up agreeing, it is important that we understand the different perspectives, and the rigidity of the standards (separate from the testing) is something I am not familiar with.
Thanks for joining the conversation, Elizabeth. Like I said, I sincerely applaud your organization’s hard work even while I disagree with your goal. Perhaps you can answer this question:
If we were to abandon the Common Core, what would you suggest as a replacement?
I am one of the folks behind the resolution. I don’t see how anyone can go along with these standards- especially in the lower grades and also put up with the high stakes testing. I’m alarmed as an American. I don’t know what else to say. I can’t justify any of it. We are coming out with a book. Much of it is online now for free. weaponsofmassdeception.org/ I’ve been a teacher for 30 years… primarily high school age in alternative schools and now ESL. My son, dad, me and my grandma were the types that this level of rigidity wouldn’t work for. Anyway, to each their own I guess. I won’t be changing my mind or focus. 🙂
I am a first grade teacher (primary), and I REALLY REALLY like the standards! I teach in a minority majority, 75% free and reduced school, and my students are succeeding with the Common Core Standards. I can’t fathom how teachers, who have had a chance to truly work with the Standards and create lessons using the Standards, oppose them. For the first time in 15 years I have the freedom to be innovative with my lessons, I have returned to the common sense land of integration with ELA, and my students take ownership in their problem solving. Is it easy…no. Is it fun…yes! Is the payoff worth it…ABSOLUTELY!
This was startling news. I was kind of expecting there to be a giant hole in my school or something this morning as if a missile had been launched at the physical institution. Was it all just a dream?
Common Core is not the problem. I came of age as a teacher in the era of standards and have never known anything different. Every lesson plan I have ever written was tied to at least one standard. When I left Montana and came to Washington I learned the slightly different standards we had here and I was off and running. Having a common set of standards for all 50 states makes sense. How different should the goals of teachers be across state lines anyway?
Standards are simply a benchmark for what students need to learn and no set of standards will ever be perfect or universally loved. Why instead should every state reinvent the wheel? I think it’s also important to realize that the standards can change. I’m guessing slight changes over time, rather than large movements, but we can improve them if we need to. And when we encounter students who are either wildly above or below standard we will do as we have always done – meet them where they are. Keep calm.
Now the tests… that’s another story.
Thank you for your thoughts, Tom! I am opposed to high stakes testing. And profiting off students. However, high stakes tests were in place before Common Core, since George Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, we’ve been testing kids ad nauseam. Common Core didn’t cause this! Also, it is naïve to think now that Common Core is being implemented, all of a sudden text book companies are profiting off students. They didn’t publish text books pre-Common Core out of the goodness of their hearts. Why did we used to see “California” or “Texas” editions prior to Common Core? There was money to be made in those States; more money than in any other State. Now the market is bigger, but school districts spent billions on text books before Common Core, and they still do.
Today I overheard a first grade teacher say, “I’m realizing my students are a whole lot more capable in math than I’ve ever thought.” High, rigorous standards can stretch kids, and stretch teachers. We are just beginning to learn about the possibilities. We shouldn’t change course when we haven’t yet arrived…
Mark: Agreed.
Jennie: Agreed.
I’m not big on high stakes tests either, but it looks like they’re here to stay. And besides, like Mark states, tests and standards aren’t the same thing. I’ve also seen higher performance from my students since CCSS, and probably thanks to CCSS.
I just wish we could get something fully implemented before it gets changed.
This also makes me wonder if they are actually opposed to to the Common Core standards or if they are opposed to the Smarter Balanced testing, which are not inherently the same thing but which are deeply enmeshed in people’s understanding. I teach 12th grade English, not a tested level, but use the Common Core Standards to guide my instructional design.
So many (not all) arguments against Common Core end up actually being about (1) testing and (2) not having actually read the language of the standards. I get that there is some reasoned opposition out there (developmental appropriateness of some standards at the earliest grades, for example), but that’s usually not what we hear in the policy/public forum. I think most people are opposed to Common Core because they think Common = communism and that it is “ObamaCore” so it must be bad. I wonder how many on either side of the aisle could cite text evidence from the actual standards to support their opposition of the standards.
Interesting, too, that the same parties that built NCLB under one president now criticize it as “government overreach” under a president from a different party…when anyone who understands schools could see it was flawed from the beginning. Politics will ruin education far faster than we bad apples will.