Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Weingarten calling for moratorium on Common Core stakes | GothamSchools

Weingarten calling for moratorium on Common Core stakes | GothamSchools:


Weingarten calling for moratorium on Common Core stakes

After dropping hints in interviews and public appearances for weeks, AFT President Randi Weingarten is formally weighing in on the backlash to the Common Core standards today by calling for a moratorium on consequences attached to Common Core test scores.
Weingarten is making the proposal right now in a speech to business and civic leaders at the Association for a Better New York, a pit stop for public figures with new ideas to float. Among the high-profile audience members is state Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, who helped steer New York’s adoption of the tougher standards and has defended the state’s decision to test students on the standards before teachers had curriculum materials aligned to them.
Weingarten is expressly saying that she is not opposed to testing students on the new standards, which emphasize critical thinking and problem solving skills. She just doesn’t want states or districts to judge schools, teachers, or students according to the test scores.
“When states and districts get the alignment right — moving from standards to curriculum to classrooms to