Alaskan Education Standards

The Department of Education concludes that high-stakes testing and statewide standards puts too strain on both the teacher and student. Multiple studies show evidence of miscalculation of scores, teachers being blamed for low test score, and too much time spent on preparation for the tests. The purpose of this policy brief is to elaborate on the non-beneficial components of high-stakes testing and statewide standards. Thus, peer-reviewed research articles and evidential articles are reviewed on high-stakes testing and statewide standards. In addition, the state of Florida has shown the greatest amount of dissatisfied outcomes. The information provided in this policy brief will precisely indicate why high-stakes testing and statewide standards should be abandoned from the school system. I request the action of Congress to outlaw high-stakes testing and statewide standards for the betterment of all National citizens by passing a new law to force states away from standardized testing.

Adopted by forty-two out states in 2010, the Common Core State Standard Initiative strives to provide an educational structure which details what English language arts and mathematics should be taught from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The initiative is the federal government’s attempt to ensure all students who graduate from high school are adequately prepared to enter a two or four year college or the workforce. Despite their intentions, the Common Core has caused much controversy in the education community. The thought behind Common Core is very valid and has the potential to help students, however changes must be made to unrealistic standards and wordy statements. Common Core must first be rewritten so that the language is clear and can be easily understood by the general public. Next ask experts on childhood development and elementary school teachers to review the standards and rewrite standards they see as unneeded or irrelevant as well as unrealistic.

In 2200 B.C. Chinese, civil servants were assessed using some of the earliest forms of standardized testing. Men would be tested on everything from archery to rites and ceremonies. The archery test would consist of shooting three arrows into a target and would be graded based on how many landed. Three arrows would equate to an excellent grade, two was good and one was passable. Standardized tests have evolved since the 2200s. Today, standardized testing is used as the main form of assessment for students in the American school system. Children as young as four years old are required to take standardized tests when entering school. Is standardized testing the best tool for assessing student development and teacher competency? There are some that would argue that standardized testing has its place, but there is an overwhelming majority that would disagree. From California to New York, there is evidence against high stakes standardized testing. Students and teachers alike buckle under the weight of these tests. Who could blame them when the tests determine, not only who is eligible to graduate high school but also which schools will receive the funding they need? Standardized tests may have had their place in the American school system fifty years ago, but today they are outdated, unreliable, and should be abolished as the main form of assessment in the public-school system.

This introduces the second standard set forth in 2012 known as the Alaska Standards K- 12 which focuses on content base material in the areas of study of language arts, mathematics, history /social studies, and technology studies ( ). The Alaska Standard is written with broad statements of content base topic and ideas which the students need to master in order to prepare them to be successful in their universities studies. These standards mirror those which are presented by the Common Core Initiative however they do not incorporate the common core

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed nationally in 2009 with the intent of better preparing students for college, and their eventual careers. Faced with the option of whether to adopt or reject CCSS, the state of Arizona chose the former. The Arizona College and Career Ready Standards (AZCCRS) were officially adopted in 2010, with required implementation starting in the 2013 school year. The approved common core subjects are English and math, and place a heavy focus on the development of real world, critical thinking skills. Common Core standards were adopted by the state of Arizona because of the perceived need to enhance students’ abilities to transition from K-12 grade levels to college and the career world. The AZCCRS clearly dictate what Arizona children should know at each grade level (Expect More Arizona, 2014) Aside from updating everyday classroom standards, there has also been a push to replace the outdated Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test. While there was debate over which standardize test to administer, the state of Arizona has decided that Arizona’s Measure of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching (AZMERIT) will be the best tool to measure the success of the new educational standards. As with most new policies, there are strong opinions about the new standards.

The Common Core State Standards are considered to be a high-quality group of academic standards. Before the standards were developed, it seemed as if the progress of the students in the United States was remaining stagnant and that America students were falling behind their international peers. The blame for this setback has fallen on the fact that standards are not consistent and from state-to-state students are required to know different things at different grade levels. As a result students are not graduating with the same set of skills (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014).

All citizens go through the kindergarten, all the way to their senior year. Hall, Hutchison and White (2015) report that teachers having less experience in the classroom have less acquaintance with the standards than those with more. Thus, there is the need for initiating pre-service teacher education programs in aide of the common core state standard in order to put more emphasis on the standard and generally in learning. At every level, the American education system allows students to be assessed using different evaluations on Science, Mathematics and English Language arts (Barnett and Fay, 2013). Nevertheless, a number of schools in the United States of America have upgraded their state standards and embraced the Common Core State Standard in the recent past. This development has given the entire world a platform for standardizing tests for various subjects such as reading skills, writing, and

Common Core State Standards, or Common Core for short, has been making headlines in 2014. Not a curriculum, Common Core is a set of standards defining the skills in which students from kindergarten through 12th grade need to have each year in order to be prepared for the next grade. Creating these national academic standards was a state-led initiative that included a coalition of educators and governors. Administrators, educators and parents participated in the developement of the actual standards. Here's a look at how Common Core evolved.

Common Core State Standards is being heard throughout the education world. Many cringe when the words are spoken and many fight to support what the words stand for. Common Core was introduced in 2009 by state leaders. Common Core State Standards were developed to prepare children for the business world or the reality after grade school. “The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy, also known as ELA” (About the Standards, n.d.). The goals for the standards outline what students should know before leaving his or her current grade level. “The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live” (About the Standards, n.d.). This is an ambitious goal, but with much support can be accomplished. According to Common Core State Standards Initiative (n.d.) The Common Core has been adopted by forty-two states already and is accompanied by District of Columbia and Department of Defense Education Activity. Common Core was developed to improve the academics in society’s schools. Academics in the past years have not been successful and the United States has fallen behind international education. “One root cause has been an uneven patchwork of academic standards that vary from state to state and do not agree on what students should know and be able to do at each

The ultimate goal intended was to ensure that students across the country are prepared to enter college programs or the workforce after high school. Governors Association convened a panel of experts to create the guidelines and standards that became Common Core. Yet, according to Stan Karp, editor for “Rethinking Schools” magazine and education activist, said that “the standards were drafted largely behind closed doors by academics and assessment “experts,” many with ties to testing companies”, Karp also stated that “In all, there were 135 people on the review panels for the Common Core. Not a single one of them was a K–3 classroom teacher or early childhood professional” (Karp 2014). The initiative 's purpose is to implement consistent, nationwide education standards in English and math, with the goal of helping ensure that high school graduates across the country are ready for college or for employment. Although Common Core isn 't a federal law, the federal government supports it by providing grants that are only available to those states that have adopted its guidelines and standards.

Common Core is the curriculum most children born in the 21st century have taken. The Common Core is the most recent update in America’s school system. The Common Core State Standards, also known as CCSS, is changing the way schools teach and learn. Currently, forty six states have adapted the curriculum. The system is run by the nation 's governors through the organizations “The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA)” and “The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).” It is standardized to raise the bar to fit everyone’s educational needs, which is all done through testing electronically. State tests require that all the students answer the same questions that are scored consistently. The goals for the Common Core include helping students in a way to prepare for the future, and to advance their skills and knowledge. Realistically, it has been negatively affecting students, schools, and teachers. Although the area of government that created these standards and tests have decided they are the best choices, critics have disagreed with the given standards. The Common Core State Standards are too advanced and rushed, which have led to stress in students and teachers since its inception, therefore should be repealed by all states with implementation of the CCSS.

Although the blame cannot all be placed on the administration, the problem with standardized testing itself stems from government involvement. The introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act led to more and more standardized testing. The Act was issued in “an attempt to build an accountability system” (Cox). If every school in the nation was held to the same standard, the government would be able to dissect where students and schools are struggling and where they are succeeding. Ideally, every school would not only be held to the same standard, but every school would also be fulfilling the expectations set out. Unfortunately, with all the competition and hardships we naturally face as an economy and a society, it is difficult to envision an ideal situation becoming reality. If schools were scrutinized in more efficient ways, it's possible the gap between the highest and lowest schools would be smaller. However, the method the government uses to gather data is testing, and this has led to figures that are shocking. In the US “a typical student takes 112 mandated standardized tests between pre-kindergarten classes and 12th grade” (Layton). “The Assistant Secretary of Education in the first Bush administration, Diane Ravitch, became known for her push to establish national standards for K-12” (Erickson). She admits that test scores have become the end goal for politicians, and not actually teaching. She reveals “Test scores are not being used for diagnostic purposes but as a clumsy and myopic way to evaluate (and penalize) American schools, teachers, and students”

Performance assessments are different from standardized testing because instead of students sitting for hours and answering application questions with the choices of A,B,C, or D students will physically demonstrate what they have learned.(Performance Based Assessment) Under performance assessments, students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge through such tasks as group projects, writing essays, performing experiments and giving them and showing the teachers they comprehend the subject. (Performance Based Assessment) The key factors in this process, is that performance assessments require kids to be active participants and have them comprehend how to get to the answer by demonstrating their knowledge. (Performance Based Assessment) In this way teachers will be provided “with more information about the learning needs of their students and [will be able to] modify their methods to meet these needs.”(Performance Based Assessment) This process “also allows students to assess their own progress and, therefore, be more responsible for their education.” (Performance Based Assessment) Schools and teachers can benefit from the process of performance assessments because of the academic knowledge they are able to show and perform during these types of assessments. (Pollard) The performance assessments can be a recognizable way of demonstrating how much the students

A very current and ongoing important issue happening within the education system is standardized testing. A standardized test is any examination that's administered and scored in a calculated, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests. Standardized aptitude tests predict how well students might perform in some subsequent educational setting. The most common examples are the SAT’s and the ACT’s. The SAT and the ACT attempt to estimate how well high school students will perform in college. But standardized test scores are what citizens and school board members rely on when they evaluate a school's effectiveness. Nationally, five such tests are in use: California Achievement Tests,

I’ve always thought that the statewide and national testing system would be a lot better, if there were some flexibility. If only there were some kind of way to let teachers assess students’ learning, or remove all but the most important tests. Oh wait, there is. Many countries already have such systems, and these are some of the countries that the United States most admires in international education comparisons. Advocates of the current standardized testing system argue that standardized testing is good because it essentially gives a