A July 21, 2014, Update on Common Core, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced
On Sunday, July 20, 2014, I took the day off from writing. No book editing; no blogging.
I think I have done so only for one other day since May.
Instead, I read a book for the sheer enjoyment of reading. I chose my all-time favorite, a work of fiction by C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce.
In the preface, Lewis makes the following statement:
A wrong sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on.
And so it is with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). CCSS was a train wreck waiting to occur from inception (see here, as well). Thus, to borrow Lewis’ math analogy, the CCSS error occurred in the planning stages. To try to “correct” CCSS at any subsequent point is an utter waste.
When 46 governors and state superintendents decided in 2009 to sign their states up for CCSS, not only did they have no idea what the final product would be; they had no clue concerning the public uproar that would ensue nationally over this supposed “state led” CCSS and its associated assessments.
Let us examine the July 21, 2014, condition of said “uproar.”
Common Core Reflux
CCSS is educational digestive upset. For example, consider the battle over control of the senate in New York state: A powerful driving force is public displeasure over CCSS– not CCSS implementation, either– CCSS existence.
And what of the rest of the 45 states plus DC supposedly committed to CCSS?
Indiana: In April 2014, Indiana became the first state to formally pass legislation to drop CCSS and replace it with state standards that some say continue to closely resemble CCSS.
Add to that US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s threat to withdraw Indiana’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver if he does not approve of Indiana’s state standards.
South Carolina: On May 30, 2014, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed legislation to replace CCSS with committee-created state standards. However, CCSS is to remain in place for the 2014-15 school year. We will have to wait to see how this A July 21, 2014, Update on Common Core, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced | deutsch29: