The jagged roll out of Common Core-aligned tests across the nation continues, the rumors of the Common Core Cataclysm have been overstated, argues Alexander Russo at the Columbia Journalism review.
"But so far, at least, much of the medias coverage of this springs Common Core testing roll out has been guilty of overemphasizing the extent of the conflict, speculating dire consequences based on little information and over-relying on anecdotes and activists claims rather than digging for a broader sampling of verified numbers," Russo argues. "The real story that the roll out of these new, more challenging tests is proceeding surprisingly well could be getting lost."
The Deseret News recently took a detailed look at parental opposition to the new high-stakes tests in Florida, including efforts by Orlando parents to opt their kids out of the test, often met with stiff resistance by school administrators.
And Vermont is now putting a pause its Common Core rollout exam because it doesn't want to create an uneven playing field for schools whose curriculum was not already aligned with the new test.
Vermont secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe told Vermont Public Radio she expected that the U.S. Department of Education allow that state to treat the test as a pilot this year "with no consequences this year. But districts will be able to use the results to improve teaching and learning."
In New York State, the New York Post reported last week that New York school officials this summer quietly altered the results, dropping several questions that proved to have seem to have wrought massive confusion. And these were not trivial changes: the dropped essay question on the 3rd grade test cut six points out of 55 total.
"After the tests were given last April 1-3," the Post reported, "the state decided to eliminate the results of one multiple-choice question on the 7th-grade ELA exam, two on the 3rd-grade ELA exam, and a four-point essay on the third-grade test."
But Alexander Russo's contention is that these are the kind of isolated snafus that affect any large scale operation of this kind, and he gets frustrated with news reporting that suggests otherwise.
"For the most part, the large-scale snafus that have been predicted do not seem to have occurred," Russo writes, "did not take place last year during the trial run process, and should not continue to be reported until they actually take place."
"But so far, at least, much of the medias coverage of this springs Common Core testing roll out has been guilty of overemphasizing the extent of the conflict, speculating dire consequences based on little information and over-relying on anecdotes and activists claims rather than digging for a broader sampling of verified numbers," Russo argues. "The real story that the roll out of these new, more challenging tests is proceeding surprisingly well could be getting lost."
The Deseret News recently took a detailed look at parental opposition to the new high-stakes tests in Florida, including efforts by Orlando parents to opt their kids out of the test, often met with stiff resistance by school administrators.
And Vermont is now putting a pause its Common Core rollout exam because it doesn't want to create an uneven playing field for schools whose curriculum was not already aligned with the new test.
Vermont secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe told Vermont Public Radio she expected that the U.S. Department of Education allow that state to treat the test as a pilot this year "with no consequences this year. But districts will be able to use the results to improve teaching and learning."
In New York State, the New York Post reported last week that New York school officials this summer quietly altered the results, dropping several questions that proved to have seem to have wrought massive confusion. And these were not trivial changes: the dropped essay question on the 3rd grade test cut six points out of 55 total.
"After the tests were given last April 1-3," the Post reported, "the state decided to eliminate the results of one multiple-choice question on the 7th-grade ELA exam, two on the 3rd-grade ELA exam, and a four-point essay on the third-grade test."
But Alexander Russo's contention is that these are the kind of isolated snafus that affect any large scale operation of this kind, and he gets frustrated with news reporting that suggests otherwise.
"For the most part, the large-scale snafus that have been predicted do not seem to have occurred," Russo writes, "did not take place last year during the trial run process, and should not continue to be reported until they actually take place."
