More than 1 million students across 14 states and D.C. have been trying out almost 10,000 test items as the group deploys its pilot exams. During a call with reporters, PARCC officials pushed the same idea as Smarter Balanced and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have done in recent days: Glitches are expected and welcome. Massachusetts Read more about Pilot Testing for Common Core Underway[…]
Just as Common Core has divided liberals—so it is also dividing conservatives. On the liberal side, one camp is for it because of its promise of increasing equity and competency for students across the United States and another camp is against it because they feel it has not been implemented well enough and will lead Read more about Big Business takes on Tea Party over Common Core[…]
More than 3 million students in grades three through eight won’t have to take older standardized tests this spring while trying out new exams aligned to the Common Core. Thanks to a long-awaited waiver granted by the Education Department, California doesn’t have to collect and report statewide assessment data in the short term. But advocacy Read more about ED Gives California Testing Pass[…]
On March 20, the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is hosting a free webinar entitled “Getting Ready for the Assessment Consortia Field Tests.” The live webinar, which can also be viewed as a recording afterward, will be from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST and the panelists will include: Jacqueline E. King, PhD, Director of Read more about Webinar: Getting Ready for the Assessment Consortia Field Tests[…]
Wisconsin, a state of stark political contrasts, is the most recent state to face a contentious debate about whether to move forward with Common Core. A state with a strong base of liberals as well as one of the most notable conservative governors in Scott Walker, Wisconsin adopted Common Core three years ago and has Read more about Common Core on the brink in Wisconsin?[…]
ASCD, the global education community, announced new features available on its free common core implementation tool ASCD EduCore. For the new year, the updated EduCore website features simpler navigation and expanded resources. Launched in August of 2012, the free EduCore digital tool is available for educators implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in both Read more about ASCD’s Free EduCore™ Common Core Implementation Tool[…]
EdNext Editor-in-Chief Paul E. Peterson penned a recent op-ed in favor of the Common Core State Standards. Peterson highlighted a curious result of an EdNext survey of Americans, in which only 21% of those surveyed gave American schools an “A” or “B” but 49% of those surveyed gave their own schools an “A” or “B”. Read more about Comparing school success creates impetus for reform[…]
TNTP, which has recently published many helpful documents about teacher effectiveness, has a new whitepaper out about the connection between teacher evaluations and Common Core. While these two issues have been on the tongues of most education professionals for the last several years, TNTP’s approach is unique in addressing each of these two issues together, Read more about TNTP Publishes Whitepaper on Classroom Observation[…]
Teachers in 18 states and the District of Columbia have new resources to help them prepare their students for upcoming field tests. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers has posted sample test items for every grade on the testing platform students will use when taking the field test later this spring. Read more about PARCC Sample Test Questions Ready for Computer Practice[…]
The National Education Association recently posted online 3,000 lessons, representing the work of more than 100 “master teachers” who translated the Common Core math and language arts standards into classroom activities for every grade. The instructors share classroom videos, samples of student work and candid evaluations of resources they’ve tested. The project, a joint venture Read more about NEA and BetterLesson team up for major new CCSS Resource[…]
In just over a year from now, the vast majority of states are planning to transition to Common Core-aligned assessments. This transition is a crucial step in fully implementing the new standards, as these assessments will measure the extent to which students are mastering the content and skills embedded in the standards-something most current state Read more about A Primer on Common Core-Aligned Assessments[…]
With Common Core implementation imminent or underway, questions remain about the extent to which state education officials and teachers support Common Core and are working toward its implementation. Even among those who agree on the importance of Common Core, there is disagreement about how quickly tests aligned with Common Core should be implemented. One side, Read more about The Pace of Common Core Implementation[…]
With all 50 states having adopted college- and career-ready standards (CCR) in English language arts/literacy and mathematics, Achieve‘s eighth annual “Closing the Expectations Gap“ report shows how all states are aligning those standards with policies to send clear signals to students about what it means to be academically prepared for life after high school. Achieve Read more about Annual Achieve Report on College and Career Readiness[…]
How well educators manage to adjust the Common Core to the needs of each student could prove pivotal academically, but also politically, as the standards themselves face skepticism in the states. This special report looks at the challenges educators face in adapting the standards for students with disabilities, English-learners, and gifted students. The special report Read more about Special Report on Diverse Learners and the Common Core[…]
With Common Core (CCSS) in various stages of implementation in 46 states, one might expect the majority of teachers to be making changes that align with the standards, even if testing for CCSS will not start until next year. A new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which supports Common Core, considers this expectation. Read more about Teachers Are Supposed to Assign Harder Books, but They Aren’t Doing It Yet[…]
As forty-six states and the District of Columbia implement the Common Core State standards, questions abound regarding implementation, including the implications for curriculum and pedagogy. In Common Core in the Schools: A First Look at Reading Assignments, researchers analyze what texts English teachers assign their students and the instructional techniques they used in the classroom. Read more about Common Core in the Schools: A First Look at Reading Assignments[…]