Guest Post: The Education Sector Attempts to Head Off a Common Core Trainwreck
By John ThompsonThe Education Sector's new report, Getting to 2014 (and Beyond): The Choices and the Challenges Ahead, could have been entitled "Whistling Past the Graveyard." The report starts with the standard proclamation that "new accountability systems will reflect the expectation that tremendous progress in students outcomes across the country could occur through the unprecedented efforts unleashed by Common Core." Yeah, and perhaps a train wreck could be avoided if accountability hawks repudiate their tactics of the last generation, while dealing with the nine issues described by the Ed Sector. So, let's take a look at what would have to happen to avoid one disaster when value-added meets Common Core.
I have been pestering policy types for a scenario where value-added evaluations could co-exist with the transition to Common Core Assessments. I have usually been met with a sputter, sentence fragments, and an admission that we will have to choose between one policy or another.
