Most parents requesting to opt out would be shook up and intimidated if they received the following letter and form. It likely would affect their judgment to the point they wouldn’t check facts for themselves. In this case, the parents let the school know their child was not to take the state assessment. The school […]
A Prediction That Smarter Balanced and PARCC Will Wither Away?
Checker Finn of the Fordham Institute predicts that Smarter Balanced and PARCC will fade, what does that mean for future Common Core assessments?
Data Mine Students to Measure Grit?
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology published a report back in February entitled “Promoting Grit, Tenacity and Perseverance: Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century.” From the executive summary: How can we best prepare children and adolescents to thrive in the 21st century—an era of achievement gaps that must be closed […]
President Obama's Education Roadmap
Has your state jumped on the Common Core bandwagon? Does your Governor have a 2020 plan? How do these two plans relate to one another. A Utah mom seeking answers laid out the plan in 10 easy steps. RoadmapNCLB_Flier
Alabama Pulls Out of PARCC and SBAC
Edweek reported late Friday that Alabama has pulled out of both testing consortia that it was involved in. In an email to EdWeek, the state’s assessment director, Gloria Turner, confirmed that Alabama has bowed out of both the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. […]
Unwritten Tests Provide Obstacle for Common Core
Joy Pullman writing for the Heartland Institute says that unwritten tests present an obstacle for the Common Core State Standards. Education leaders are beginning to publicly worry that two coalitions attempting to determine mandatory tests for some 40 million U.S. students by 2014 can’t pull their massive enterprise together by deadline or at all. This […]
Technology Requirements for Common Core Assessments Released, But Not Costs
The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) released their technology requirements last week. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) released theirs earlier this month. Both are noticeably quiet on the costs. Here are the five recommendations made by SBAC: Move away from Windows XP (which is currently used by more […]
Glenda Ritz’ Opposition to Common Core Highlighted
Since Glenda Ritz is now the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction-Elect she’ll need to be reminded of what she wrote prior to her election on November 7th. This is one of the primary reasons Tony Bennett lost. Erin Tuttle at Hoosiers Against Common Core highlighted her position statement: Common Core Standards must be re-evaluated.Indiana had […]
Iowa’s Plan for Education Success–Assess, Assess, Assess
The Iowa Department of Education released it’s 2012 annual report that calls for more student assessments statewide which will mean less local control.