A 'close read' of reformy #PARCC rhetoric
One of the best books ever for 8 yr. olds
On March 11, The Asbury Park Press ran this op-ed by NJEA President Wendall Steinhauer in which he rightly claimed, "PARCC and other high-stakes tests, by their nature, become the point of learning. High scores are the goal, not just the result."
On March 13, the paper ran this response from Dr. Sandra Alberti with whom Steinhauer engaged in a friendly PARCC debate on NJ 101.5 back in January. Alberti works at Student Achievement Partners, which was founded by the lead writers of the Common Core State Standards including David (people really don’t give a sh*t about what you feel or what you think) Coleman.
As an homage to the Common Core's 'close reading' technique, below is my analysis of Dr. Alberti's piece. Part of the package of 'reforms' that includes Common Core State Standards and high-stakes testing, Pearson defines Close Reading as:
As an homage to the Common Core's 'close reading' technique, below is my analysis of Dr. Alberti's piece. Part of the package of 'reforms' that includes Common Core State Standards and high-stakes testing, Pearson defines Close Reading as:
Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole. (PARCC, 2011, p. 7)
In other words: your job as a reader isn't to react emotionally to a text because no one cares anyway (did you click on that David Coleman link above?). No, you just need to read it and understand what the author means.The process involves extensive annotation. Students are required to highlight sections of text and write questions, thoughts and ideas about what the author means in the margins or on sticky notes. I have real concerns about this approach, but hey, what do I know? I'm only an art teacher. But if my now 23 year old son, who read every singleCaptain Underpants book multiple times and laughed his butt off in the process, told me he had to do a close read of those books when he was 8, I'd have raised a ruckus. But, I'll give it the 'old college (and career) try'.
Quotes from Dr. Alberti's piece are in red. My 'close read' comments follow.
[the NJEA] is spending millions of dollars on a campaign to propagate anti-testing sentiment.
- How many hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the 'campaign to propagate' the myths of 'failing students', 'failing schools' and 'lazy teachers' over the past few years?
- How many billions of dollars in public education funding has Gov. Christie Marie Corfield: A 'close read' of reformy #PARCC rhetoric: