“Nineteen countries and education systems scored higher than the United States in reading on the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, up from nine systems when the test was last administered in 2009. “While we’re standing still, other countries are making progress,” said Jack Buckley, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which issued the U.S. report on PISA.” (Heitin). From the outside the initiative, “Common Core” that President Obama and the government have been pushing since 2009 seems like it would be a great thing for education ,our children, and the future of our society, but once you look closer it is not. I believe that we definitely need serious improvement in the US educational system; but Common Core is not the answer. We as citizens, whether we have children in the school system or not should not allow for implementation of this curriculum in our states and in our schools. Common Core infringes on the US Constitution, it has serious growing opposition from many educators and parents that it is worse than the current curriculums that many states already have in place, it hinders states and hinders parents right of choice of education for their children and will be very costly to implement and all this to be funded on the taxpayers backs.
Common Core is a new way of learning, called conceptual learning. There are all new textbooks, technology and training of teachers required. It is said that State education chiefs and governors in 48 states came together to develop the Common Core, a set of clear college- and career-ready standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts/literacy and mathematics and it is supposed to be designed to ensure that...
... middle of paper ...
...nt Stalls as Other Nations Make Gains." Education Week: U.S. Achievement Stalls as Other Nations Make Gains. n.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2014.
"Frequently Asked Questions About Public, Charter Schools." What is a Charter School? | Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Charter Schools in New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey | Uncommon Schools. Uncommon Schools, n.d. Web. 6 May 2014.
Golod, Amy. "Common Core: Myths and Facts." Common Core: Myths and Facts - US News. US News, 6 May 2014. Web. 6 May 2014.
Staff, Editorial. "Setting the Record Straight on Common Core: Part 1." Setting the Record Straight on Common Core: Part 1 | Pioneer Institute. Pioneer Institute, n.d. Web. 6 May 2014.
"The Role of the Federal Government in Public Education in the United States." The Role of the Federal Government in Public Education in the United States. n.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014.
O’Rourke also appeals to ethos by providing key evidence of how standardized test scores in America have not improved despite an increase in spending per pupil. He cites the NAEP in this statement: “SAT scores in 1970 averaged 537 in reading and 512 in math, and 38 years later the scores were 502 and 515,” (O’Rourke). O’Rourke presents this evidence to
Forty-two states have adopted Common Core State Standards. These standards were created to focus only on English and Mathematics. In effect of states adopting Common Core Standards, all other subjects taught in school seemed less important. History and Science standards are no longer stressed. Students are limited to being proficient in only two subjects. The Common Core deprives students’ ability to be skilled in multiple areas. These standards do not provide a slight “break” from the challenging fast past teaching of English and Mathematics. In addition to limiting education to English and Mathematics, Jill Bowden explains that the Common Core is affecting kindergarteners by taking “away from materials that encourage playful learning.” (36).
Neill, Monty. "The No Child Left Behind Act Is Not Improving Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 162-68. Print.
Since 2010, there were 45 states that have adopted the same educational standards called Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and seeks to establish consistent education standards across the states. The Common Core Standards is initiative state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English and Mathematical standards. These standards help to educate all of the students equally, they help children who move from state to state, as well as they help to prepare students for college and workplace. The common core standard helps to provide a clear understanding for teachers and parents of what is expected of the students to learn. It is designed to help educate our children for the future; it gives them the knowledge and skill they need to be prepared for post secondary education and employment. "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world." (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers)
Back in 2001, before the No Child Left Behind Act was proposed, the United State’s rank in educational performance was 16th. After the act was put into action, that rank moved up to where we now stand at 17th in the nation. Statistics also showed that because of America’s dropping education level, many teachers began to get discouraged in their professions. Although, America has not ever been able to hold the title ...
Strauss, Valerie. "Eight Problems with Common Core Standards." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2019. From: https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUSOC120.10.2.
Neill, Monty. "Leaving Children Behind: How No Child Left Behind Will Fail Our Children." Phi Delta Kappan 2003, sec. 85.3: n. pag. MasterFILE Main Edition. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade Anya Kamenetz author of "Tough Week for the Common Core" writes that “[t]he Common Core [is] not, strictly speaking, national standards. They were developed independently of the federal government, and states are not under a mandate to adopt them,” but then goes on to say that the “standards received a big boost in the form of funding incentives from the Obama administration” (1). These “big boost[s]” are what concerns many like Bobby Jindal. “A few years ago, Jindal was one of the Common Core 's biggest proponents. But he has since had a change of heart” (3). Bobby Jindal, along with many other opposers, question what would happen if state who had implemented common core in their schools suddenly dropped the plan? Anya Kamenetz furthers her article by stating that the three states who have already done this “now face spending tens of millions of dollars to create new standards, adopt new materials to go with them and retrain teachers” (1). Some might say that this decrease in funding is expected because the federal government had agreed to fund a specific program and although schools don 't have to use that program, those who don 't have to find the funding for their programs themselves. But how is this
Common Core is pushing students to think critically by answering questions with more explanation. Students are required back their answer providing evidence for their answers. “The Common Core strives to create a uniform playing field for all kids and an evidence-based, robust learning system in every grade, with the end goal of college and career success in clear and obtainable sight” (How Will the Common Core Standards Affect You Child?, 2014). On a positive note, this is great for the students, but will require corporation from everyone to make it happen. Teachers are required to make their math and literacy lesson plans rigor. “Urged to dig deeper, students will find themselves interacting with subject matter at an enhanced level, allowing for long-term retention of information and an enhanced ability to utilize analytical thinking throughout multiple areas of their lives” (How Will the Common Core Standards Affect You Child?, 2014). Common Core not only affects student learning, but it affects test also. With Common Core, tests will be more challenging and scores are said to drop. “As a measure of accountability, both for students and for schools, testing under the Common Core will be more challenging and for some, might produce temporarily drop scores and possibly the need for summer school” (How Will
The Common Cores are set of guidelines that each teacher must meet during each school year. These guidelines are met during exams and other types of testing. In Stop The Madness: On “No Child Left Behind” by Diane Ravitch she begins her argument against the NCLB-No Child Left Behind- saying that it worthless for it forces the school to focus only making test requirements instead of students actually getting the main reason why students that go to school, it is to receive knowledge. “One of the unintended consequences of NCLB was the shrinkage of time available to teach anything other than reading and math...Test scores became an obsession” ( Paragraph 7 Ravitch). The “test scores” are wrecking and straying away from true purpose of the schools around the country. The obsession made many educators focus on more test taking skills then the actual knowledge of the subject in order to reach the stranders that the administration have given them . Despite the test scores, the United States are not high rank in math according to the U.S Math Performance in Global Perspective by the Harvard University and Stanford University. In the US itself, the percentage of students that are taking advanced classes are 11.4% in Massachusetts. This is the highest percentage in the US that students are taking high scores. Yes, not every student has the ability to do the
West, Martin. "Global lessons for improving U.S. Education: international comparisons of student achievement illustrate the gains possible for students in the United States and offer insights on how to achieve them." Issues in Science and Technology: n. pag. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. (“West”)
Strauss, Valerie. "Where U.S. Stands in Education Internationall." Washington Post. N.p., 25 June 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
There are many studies have conducted on the Common Core issue. I am interested in reading and knowing this topic, the Common Core Standards in the American perspective. According to State Standards Initiative, the Common Core State Standards established curricula for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects “the Standards” are the peak of a prolonged effort to carry out the charge supplied by the states to build the generation of K-12 standards to help guarantee that all learners are college and occupation ready in knowledge at the end of high school. (Schutz, n.d.).
In the 1980’s a report called “A Nation At Risk” stated that American children had fallen behind in such subjects as math and science. Thus came the advent of education’s increased focus on literacy and numeracy, accountability and academic standards. These high standards, according to Dumas (2000), are the most significant trend in schools today.