Three Qualms About Standardized Tests and How the Common Core Consortia Hope to Address Them

Three Qualms About Standardized Tests and How the Common Core Consortia Hope to Address Them:

Three Qualms About Standardized Tests and How the Common Core Consortia Hope to Address Them

by guest blogger

Standardized testing is one of the most polarizing topics in education policy. Policymakers have advocated for tests as an objective measure of both teacher and student performance. Teachers, though, largely despise the tests, the preparation for them, and the time it takes away from classroom instruction in the springtime.

Disney

Proponents of the Common Core State Standards say relief is on the way: With new state standards will come new assessments in 2014-2015, aimed at providing teachers a more thorough report on their students’ progress that will ultimately help them drive instruction. During a recent webinar, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) explained how they are tackling three common criticisms of today’s standardized tests:
1) “These tests represent three days out of the 180 day school year. They do not show that the student