Myths V. Facts About Common Core Standards

The modern day has brought upon many improved aspects, whether technological, medical, or even personal details, but also many defective facets, such as the topic of issue, Common Core Standards. The system that seems to not work in some places, but continues to stay. The Common Core Curriculum is a set of standards that a student has to be “proficient” in by the end of the school year, and the standards vary by state. It also tests students by having them do benchmarks, so they can show the teachers that they are where they need to be. Many claim that these standards will improve the education, career, and life of the students that are in the program, but is it truly the case? With three main flaws in the system, such as how cursive writing

Standardized tests are exams that are supposed to measure a child’s academic knowledge but have long been a controversial subject of discussion. Although it is one method to see how a child is performing, is it the best method? Standardized testing can be biased or unfair, inhibit both the teacher’s and the children’s creativity and flexibility, affect funding for schools, cause untested subjects to be eliminated from the curriculum, and cause anxiety for children and teachers.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a voluntary state led initiative that looks to establish clear expectations for learning in grades kindergarten through twelfth that are standard from state to state. The purpose of the standards is to make certain that there is uniformity in student proficiency and high school graduates have the know-how and ability needed for college and a competitive workforce in the twenty-first century. Along with forty-three other states and the District of Columbia, Mississippi adopted CCSS in 2011 in English and mathematics (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010).

Additionally, Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” There are different forms of intelligence that go beyond what our school system measures. Students are not a unit to be measured, and students cannot be assigned a numerical value to identify their intelligence. Students are diverse—they learn at different speeds, and they learn in different ways. Focusing solely on test scores is hurting our students and deviating away from building our society on success and excellence. Critics are slowly realizing the problems associated with standardized tests—they create anxiety, they are extremely biased, and they do not measure the ability to think deeply.

Parents and professors speculate why children no longer display excitement and ambition for learning. Most share the common goal of educating the youth to take on the “rights and responsibilities of citizens” (Ravitch 109). Unfortunately, educational requirements have strayed from the original purpose and began to aim their attention toward the “importance” of standardized testing. As a current high school senior, my experience has been that students are branded by their grades and test scores as if they determine who we are as a person. Diane Ravitch’s “The Essentials of A Good Education”, successfully critiques the extensive use of standardized testing in order to pursue change in our education systems and prove that focusing on test scores corrupts a child’s inner creativity.

Over the last few years, there has been a huge shift is classroom dynamics and teaching with the introduction of Common Core standards. The new standards are requiring students to think in different ways than they are accustomed to and teachers are finding themselves teaching using entirely different teaching methods, all while trying to maintain a balance of more effective practices and what teachers are most comfortable with. In an attempt to keep aligned with the new standards, elementary school across America are in the process of trying various new strategies that conflict with the beliefs of many teachers. The question in focus in relation to the new standards and teaching practices is how will counting objects impact the number

Even though the idea of having a common set of standards is appealing to the public, and Common Core still has the support of the public majority, the intentions of the policy need to be made clearer. Public versus educator perspectives on teacher's role in education is different (Henderson

If not every state actively follows Common Core, how can they be certain the lessons are being taught equally? Also, how can they monitor the grades when these are the standards that are supposed to be reached in 90% of all schools in North America? Their standards are intended to be challenging, but not all minds work in the same way. Each student learns differently and has different methods. I feel as though forcing each student to learn the same way is almost more harmful than helpful. Common Core sets a prime example of one of those ideas that seems flawless in theory, but later proves to be almost completely ineffective in

Those with the Federal government that are for the Common Core Standard argue that the Standards are not curriculum. “It is important to understand what the Common Core is not. Most importantly, the Common Core is not a Curriculum… Equally important the Common Core does not prescribe a particular teaching style: effective teachers can have very different styles.” (Schoenfeld)

The Common Core Standards are an outline of the skills and knowledge students must know in each grade; kindergarten through the twelfth grade. They include a specific curriculum in mathematics as well as english/reading. The Core was created in 2009 by governors and state commissioners of education. The goal of the common core is to prepare students to succeed in college, their careers and life. However, since the implementation of the core it has become a controversial issue with support on both sides. The common core has not improved our education system but has unfairly assessed students knowledge through tests, ignored students individual learning styles and overlooked important life skills. (Bloodworth)

Many people in the United States are concerned with the role that standardized testing has on education. Most of them have very strong views on this subject and as it usually happens with large-scale issues these views are very diverse and often opposite. Some claim that standardized testing is the best way to determine student’s skills and qualities because they are equally designed for everyone and not biased. Others, on the other hand, argue the fairness of these tests. They believe that test scores do not represent student’s knowledge. What is certain, in my opinion, is that this subject needs more attention followed by actions that will actually make difference in the education system.

The Common Core State Standards are a state attempt to create strong educational standards. The standard are created to ensure that students in the country are learning and grasping the information that are given in the classrooms for them to succeed academically. The Common Core plan included governors and education commissioners form forty-eight states and the District of Columbia. They wanted to make sure the standards are relevant, logical and sequential. For content all subjects must have critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Some positive aspects of this policy is that it prepares our students for a competitive global jobs. It can provide national connections in education. Designed to shape the best standards so that all states will be taking a step ahead in education. These standards had been created after extensive research by professional educators for excellence in education. The CCS focus on what students expectations of learning, and achievements. Educators do not need to worry that the standards will make their jobs look redundant because they are in charge of creating lessons to teach their students the content and skills that the CCS demands. The teachers do not feel that the standards are one-size-fits-all. Some negative aspects of the policy are that is a program created by solely the government. The CCS is a program put together on idyllic situations in education by individuals who have subsidy and students ahead of the learning

“Our educational goal [is] the production of caring, competent, loving, lovable people” . The students found in the schools across the United State are the future of America. They are the doctors, teachers, business people, lawyers and many other roles, that will be out in the workforce in the years to come. What they learn in school will impact them immensely; it is the responsibility of a teacher to give students the best education in order to ensure the common good of the future. It is essential for students to not only learn content matter, but also the skills to enable them to participate in a democracy. Due to standardized testing, the emphasis of education has become on score and rankings rather than learning. A standardized test does not look at the whole student, the scores provided are on a very narrow aspect of education. In the classroom, there are countless ways for teachers to assess the student as a whole person not as just a score. Standardized tests scores should not be the sole criteria for determining a student’s academic achievement.

Standardized tests do not give us a complete and direct measure of student achievement because they often only measure the goals of education(Harris). And while teachers and administration are forced to increase preparation for these tests, important -arguably more important - skills are being overlooked. Here are some attributes that standardized tests do not even try to cover: creativity, motivation, persistence, curiosity, reliability, critical thinking, self-awareness, leadership, civic-mindedness, empathy, courage, compassion, sense of beauty and wonder, honesty and integrity. Surely these are all “achievements” that students should be experiencing, so why don’t schools these as well as academic goals? Rochelle Gutiérrez, a member of The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics says "Achievement—all the outcomes that students and teachers attain. Achievement is more than test scores but also includes class participation, students' course-taking patterns, and teachers' professional development patterns"(Harris). These are all qualities that standardized tests cannot measure.

There are more important skills a student needs to learn for their future. Julia Barrier-Ferreira is an educator and wrote an article for Clearing House, which focused on the nurturing of students. Not only are thinking skills important for a student’s future, but they also need the skill to deal with difficult life issues. Students may be able to achieve academically, but lack what is necessary to cope with difficult life issues. Teachers have to abandon teaching students what is not related to the standardized tests, which then makes them lose sight of what is important for the students. A whole child is not simply composed of their intellect, but their emotional and spiritual well-being as well. According to Barrier-Ferreira, “A school must be about achieving a balance between developing the intellectual, emotional, and social selves of each individual” (39). This can be done by allowing students a reasonable amount of time to socialize with their peers and allows students to align with the natural disposition of the human being (Berrier-Ferreira 39). However, a teacher cannot focus on teaching students how to socialize or deal with real-life problems if their teaching method is changed to standardize. It would be difficult to teach students the material to pass the standardized tests and nurture them emotionally and spiritually. Barrier-Ferreira’s main argument is that standardized testing are preventing teachers to teach what is not on those tests. Also, students are