‘Ashamed’ Teacher Calls Common Core Exams ‘Institutional Abuse’
A Long Island, New York elementary school teacher who gained national attention for blogging that he was ashamed for his role in administering Common Core tests to students told TheBlaze he wants to see the K-12 math and science standards done away with in his state.
“I’d like to see it repealed,” said Ralph Ratto, a teacher and president of the local teachers union. “I’m not against tough standards. I’m against these standards. They have not been tested and have not been researched.”
Signs are raised during the Hoosiers Against Common Core rally at the Statehouse, Monday, April 21, 2014. (AP Photo/The Indianapolis Star, Kelly Wilkinson)
Ratto expressed his profound frustration with the New York state Common Core exams that he said were ridiculously confusing for his class of 10-year-old students.
“Historically, my students excel on standardized tests, often finishing near the top of our district and state. Today I witnessed – no I was part of!! – a situation in which students were forced to endure what amounted to what I would call an abusive situation,” Ratto wrote on his blog “Opine I Will,” which was later republished in the Washington Post. “Today I am ashamed. I am ashamed I didn’t do enough to stop this madness.”
He told TheBlaze he will continue to work at preventing the exams from being given next year, but was unsure what he would do if ordered to administer the exam again.
New York is among the numerous states where the Common Core State Standards are hotly debated. Indiana dropped the standards altogether last month, while most of the 44 states that adopted the standards are at least debating the implementation.
The controversial standards are backed by the Obama administration and the national teacher unions – though are opposed by many local and state teacher unions.
“I was angry at my administrators for not stepping up to the plate and attempting to end this ‘Ashamed’ Teacher Calls Common Core Exams ‘Institutional Abuse’ | TheBlaze.com:
