Common Core Could Improve Quality of High School Assessments - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Common Core Could Improve Quality of High School Assessments - High School Notes (usnews.com):

Common Core Could Improve Quality of High School Assessments

By KELSEY SHEEHY

December 3, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Short multiple choice exams are ineffective and won’t work for the new Common Core standards, experts say.

The phrase "Common Core" is on the minds ofhigh school teachers across the country as schools in 45 states and the District of Columbiabegin implementing the new education standards.

Designed to set a consistent benchmark for achievement in math and English, the Common Core State Standards aim to prepare students for college and the workplace by using in-depth lessons to build critical thinking and analytical skills.

[See why high school students need to think, not memorize.]

New standards also mean new standardized assessments to measure student progress. The first of these exams will be