Uncategorized | May 28, 2013
Unreasonable expectations and CCSS assessments
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Unreasonable expectations and CCSS assessments
By Angela Watson
So last month I ranted a little bit about product placement on the new standardized tests in New York (as in, the brand names of cartoons and sneakers and soda being embedded in reading passages.) Now that “testing season” is officially over in most schools, I’m really eager to hear from more educators who have seen CCSS-aligned assessments in their districts, and find out what’s really happening. I was going to title this post Are the new Common Core-aligned assessments unreasonable? But everything I’ve read and seen points to one unequivocal answer–yes–so let’s just start from there.
Pushback against the standards seems to be increasing. The RNC wants to shut down the Common Core. Six states are backing out of the Common Core, putting forward legislation to remove their obligations from CCSS implementation. (This article is the best I’ve seen on the topic of why certain groups are for and against the standards, and how support for the standards have shifted over time.)
Personally, I am disheartened by states talking about CCSS withdrawal when most schools still haven’t even figured out how they’re going to implement the standards yet. I like the idea of having a common set of standards taught in all states, and I like the Common Core State Standards themselves for the most part. They’re rigorous, but not impossible, and take a huge step toward eliminating the “mile wide, inch deep” curriculum problems I’ve bemoaned since my days as a student teacher. If we throw out the Common Core, THEN what? Start from scratch, spend billions more, and come up with something that’s pretty similar, anyway? I think we need a few years with these standards to see how they work. It’s way too soon to be giving up.
So my frustration is not with the standards themselves. It’s the assessments I’ve been seeing so far that really trouble me. (I especially dislike the eventual requirement that the assessments be completed online. Most schools are not even close to having the technology infrastructure to support this, and I’m not convinced it’s necessary or even desirable to do all standardized testing on the computer.) I don’t think the general public has any idea how much is being asked of our students, and so many of the expectations are clearly developmentally inappropriate.
Consider this email I recieved from Learning Girl of The Ways They Learn blog. She’s a fantastic resource room teacher here in New York and not afraid to speak the truth about what happened when students in her school took the new CCSS-aligned state tests. She’s given me permission to share her concerns here:
I proctored 5th grade, which seems to have been the most disastrous as far as I can tell, but I heard they were all pretty rough. I’m not sure which part of the CCSS justifies that test; I was always at the top of my high-performing class and even I don’t think I would have been up to some of that language in 5th grade.
I just don’t understand how the higher standards translate into impossible tests. I do think the standards are ambitious, but they don’t actually say “What used to be considered 11th grade vocabulary is now to be taught at 5th.” I’m all for teaching/encouraging kids to think more deeply about what they read, process meatier content, or whatever it was supposed to be, but in my mind that never meant having 10-year-olds interpret Shakespearean-sounding prose or divine which of four similar-sounding statements the test makers deemed the “best” answer to a vague question.
In addition (or maybe not, maybe just more of the same complaint) I don’t see how preparing kids to be college-ready at 18 becomes synonymous with having them do college-level work at 10. What is wrong with having them progress through developmentally appropriate sequential stages until college-level skills emerge? What support is there for the idea that these skills should look the same at all ages, just at different levels? I don’t expect my 6-month-old to walk like an adult, just slower or shorter. I know that she can crawl at 6 months and toddle at 12 months (approx.) and when her body matures, the skills will come with it. I view academics much the same way, though with more complexity.
I’d love to hear what you’re experiencing with “Common Core-aligned” assessments in your district. Are they harder than what your students are used to seeing? Are they well-matched with the curriculum? What would you change about the way your students are tested?
Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
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What I saw in my district this year was TOO MUCH TESTING! As soon as we finished one, we were on to another. There was no “rhythm” to our weeks because our days were constantly interrupted by testing. We piloted CCSS but as teachers our JOBS were dependent on the state test — of course those measures were completely different then the CCSS-aligned curriculum we had been teaching all year. UGH. I am in favor of the CCSS but our state needs to take away the other tests then — it’s not fair to assess the students on material that we didn’t cover because we were busy with CC. There doesn’t seem to be a measure of teacher-mentoring in the new evaluation system — I have seen 1st year teachers let go two years in a row now. . .I’m sure there is good reason BUT I’m certain they were never given a “warning” or probation or even a chance to “do better”. How can we help our teachers when all of our administrators are busy evaluating and completing paperwork for MORE testing??? We are losing veteran teachers who are valuable because they don’t “have” to stick around for this more, more, more and we’re losing people who maybe could be good in the classroom, given a little guidance, because no one has the time or patience to help them through their first years. There is SO MUCH MORE to teaching then “just teaching”. . .we need our state policy makers to figure that out first.
Exactly…what you just described is happening all over the country, and it’s producing disastrous results. My hope is that in a another year or two, most districts will be fully implementing CCSS and CCSS-aligned assessments so we can fairly evaluate how well things are working. It’s impossible to tell right now with the mismatch.
As a mom, i can’t understand why we are subjecting kids to all of this nonsense. I grew up in brazil, if we had to do a test like this at the end of the year I can say most of my friends would have a lot of problems… Instead we use report cards, if the child is struggling, the grades on quizzes would help the teacher identify what that child need. And by the end of the year you had your report card and you would be promoted to the next grade or not… I’m not an educator but as a parent, that makes more sense to me than expecting kids to do one big test and base so many things on it.
Now with my own kids, I don’t understand the logic. My daughter was a great student, straight A all year, never had any problems. In 4th grade she did not pass the reading STAAR. Her teachers did not see that coming and had no clue on what happened. She moved on to 5th grade but had to do extra classes for reading. None of her teachers could see anything wrong. The reading specialist said she was the best kid in her class. I have her report card for that year, mostly A, a few Bs. And fail on one test. The problem is that she hates those tests, she gets bored and tries to finish fast, she does not worry if she is doing it right. So this is what I have, a excellent student that can’t tolerate a 4 hours test. It’s too much, at least for a 10 yo.
Hi Angela! Here in California we’re behind in implementing the CCSS. I just went to training yesterday for Math, and we were given pacing guides with what was to be included in this year’s teaching and what wasn’t, based on the CCSS. We just got new curriculum about 5 years ago for math, so we will be jumping all over and not following its sequence. I like the way they organized what we will be teaching, but there are a few concepts that are not in the curriculum that we’re going to have to figure out how to teach ourselves…we do this all the time anyway, so this is not that big of a deal so far. What is worrisome is that my colleagues and I just took a sample CCSS test that had 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th grade questions as part of a pilot program…on laptops that were brought to us just for that specific reason, and then taken away. Now, our computer lab is not really a lab if all the the computers don’t work. We don’t have computers in our classrooms besides our own. We have old Mac laptops in the lab, our wireless network often fails, and that’s just some of the technical issues. The actual test was very difficult and developmentally inappropriate. On top of that, we realized that we have to teach our students how to use the computers. So, we have to commit to going to the “computer lab” weekly to teach computer skills (how to use the mouse pad on the laptops, how to type, etc.) on equipment that is unreliable. We have no budget whatsoever to upgrade our “lab”…What a mess! Our days are so packed as it is, and now we have another thing that we have to get done. CRAZY!!!
Yep, those technology issues have me very troubled. I don’t think the majority of questions for the elementary grades will require much typing–mostly just clicking, dragging and dropping, etc. By third grade, those basic skills shouldn’t be too troublesome. So personally, I worry less about the kids’ computer skills and more about the computers themselves. Computers in schools only seem to be reliable for about the first year and then things go wonky, and it’s rare that a school doesn’t have internet connectivity issues, especially when a lot of students are online at the same time. These are NOT problems any teacher wants to deal with during a standardized test which is stressful in and of itself.
I find this conversation very interesting. I don’t have very much experience with the CCSS. Our training is not until August, the week before school starts. (when I’m supposed to start implementing them…not a lot of time to prep if you ask me) Over the past couple of months, I’ve been reading articles and such to find out why some people are against CCSS. The problem from what I’ve read, is not the standards themselves. It’s the fact that they are controlled by the federal government. Angela, you mentioned in your post that we should give the standards a few years to see if they work. By then, states won’t be allowed to back out of them. States will not be able to revise the standards or make changes. So, I’m okay with the fact that some states are second guessing. The whole CCSS came in such a whirl-wind, that many didn’t have time to really think everything through. After reading the comments about the issues with the CCSS assessments and the inconsistency with the math standards, it only adds to my concern. I hope discussions like these continue because if we as teachers don’t fight for our students….who will?
Rachel, I’m glad you brought this point up, because you’re right: state vs. federal control of education is a major issue here. There are many people who believe that the federal government does not have the right to mandate what is taught in individual states, and naturally, they are opposed to the CCSS. I’m glad you shared your concern about that.
My personal stance is that the national standards only specify the learning objectives–they don’t tell teachers how to teach, and they don’t prevent states from adding to the curriculum (or even taking away from, up to 10% I believe) as they see fit. I can’t imagine any state taking issue with more than 10% of the standards. There’s nothing even remotely controversial in the standards (remember, CCSS is only ELA and math), and they’re developmentally appropriate for the most part. I can’t imagine that kids in, say, Oklahoma, need to be learning different math concepts in third grade than kids in California. Having a national set of ELA and math standards makes sense to me, and personally I think the benefits outweigh the problems. The social studies standards are going to require more leeway, as I see it.