Arne Duncan to NY: Don't be alarmed if scores drop
TUESDAY AUGUST 6, 2013, 5:04 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Students and parents in New York should not be alarmed if the scores on last spring's standardized tests drop sharply, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Tuesday.
Duncan said the math and English test results that will be released Wednesday, reflecting student performance on new, Common Core-aligned assessments, will "give a clear picture of where our students are on the trajectory toward college and career readiness."
"The lower proficiency rates that we will see ... do not reflect that teachers are teaching less or students are learning less," Duncan said during a conference call with New York state and New York City education officials.
New York was among the first states to align its standardized tests with the Common Core standards that 46 states have adopted.
The Common Core standards are supposed to increase the rigor of school curricula to better
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Duncan said the math and English test results that will be released Wednesday, reflecting student performance on new, Common Core-aligned assessments, will "give a clear picture of where our students are on the trajectory toward college and career readiness."
"The lower proficiency rates that we will see ... do not reflect that teachers are teaching less or students are learning less," Duncan said during a conference call with New York state and New York City education officials.
New York was among the first states to align its standardized tests with the Common Core standards that 46 states have adopted.
The Common Core standards are supposed to increase the rigor of school curricula to better