Common Core Assessments Must Be Used to Guide – Not Punish – Teachers, Says Eskelsen | NEA Today

Common Core Assessments Must Be Used to Guide – Not Punish – Teachers, Says Eskelsen | NEA Today:

Common Core Assessments Must Be Used to Guide – Not Punish – Teachers, Says Eskelsen

by twalker

By Tim Walker
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are scheduled to be in place by fall of 2014, and the enormous changes they’ll bring to every classroom will be felt just as efforts to overhaul teacher evaluations systems pick up steam. Is it any wonder that educators have what National Education Association Vice President Lily Eskelsen calls not a “love/hate” relationship with the Common Core, but a “love/fear” relationship?
At a panel discussion about CCSS and teacher accountability at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI)on Monday, Eskelsen praised the standards as having the potential to prepare every student to thrive as a knowledgeable, creative and engaged citizen. Still, Eskelsen acknowledged that the fast-paced implementation

Seattle Eases Rules on Exams Teachers are Boycotting

by twalker

Seattle school leaders have decided to relax a few requirements for the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)this spring, the exams that are the focus of a teacher boycott that has received national attention. Ninth-graders who have passed the state’s reading exam will not have to take the MAP reading test, too, officials said this week. Source: Seattle Times

Education: Poverty Is the Crux of the Problem

by twalker

In the past few months, news articles have suggested that the data on achievement gaps among public school students is puzzling and that when it comes to solutions, “the cupboard is bare.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Source: TruthDig