Here we go! The common core standards are making a come back. Pearson, the world's "leading" learning company has finally created a curriculum for math in grades k-6 which will be available to schools for the 2011-2012 school year. This article talks more about the standards but doesn't address the idea of evaluations. What is going to come of this?
We all know about the pro's and con's of the core standards but what do you think? Is this program going to work? Will it ever be implemented in the high school level? Will this help weed out the "bad apple" teachers in the school? What will the evaluation process look like?
I think that having a common core standard is essential to our country. We need to keep up with the other countries and move together as a nation not individual states. We cannot have standards in some states that are higher than other states, its just not appropriate for our education system. Also, as teachers we can share resources nation-wide versus state wide. I feel that before the standards can be implemented to the high school grade levels, we need to collect data and research to make sure this is effective. I dont think it will weed out the "bad apples" this is just a new curriculum and they already teach to the curricumlum , its about the strategies used that make you an affective teacher.
ReplyDeleteI think the common core standards would be a great thing for our country (if they work). Why shouldn't we all be learning the same thing? The hope is to better prepare our students for college and hopefully this is the way.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping the common core standards make it to the high school level so all of our students are ready for college! This can't be something that is done halfway.
I don't know how it will affect our teachers yet. I think they have to worry about implementing and work out the kinks before they can start "blaming" the teachers.
Having different core standards in different states and locations will probably place students at a disadvantage when compared to others. If common core standards are set in place then teachers and students will know what their goals are. Wheter they meet those standards is another question. But I do feel it will also benifit the student because now they know what standards they must meet because everyone is aiming for that same goal.
ReplyDeleteCore standards are essential to education. There must be some level of achievement that is consistent throughout the country. Without them, students who perform incredibly low in one region or district may be top performers in another. Then, we could have students all applying to colleges with some students who don't even stand a chance against the students held to higher standards. Nonetheless, as Coach mentioned, for teachers what is most important is the methods in which you use to achieve these core standards.
ReplyDeleteAs Allison said, we all knew this was coming and I think we all agree that it makes sense as a country to have common standards. I know I am biased towards the Northeast, but my concern is that the standards will be dumbed down from our current NY Regent Standards to create a common ground with other states and areas of the country. For example, in the private school where I teach, there are 3 tracks: College Prep, Honors, and High Honors. While the upper levels offer rigorous coursework, the CP level curriculum is simpler than public school standards to ensure that students succeed. I could envision this happening country wide as we adopt common standards while still being driven by standardized test score performance.
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