Shut the Hell Up, Dept.

Big shock; NY state’s new math standards look a lot like Common Core’s.

The excuse offered is, well of course they do, because CC standards weren’t that bad to begin with.

Here is where I stopped reading:

“So if a new set of learning standards is so similar to the unpopular Common Core, what’s the point? “We want students to be college and career ready. And so, if you look at what colleges expect and what employers respect, it’s probably not too dissimilar with what’s expected in Common Core. So there probably wasn’t a lot of wiggle room so to speak there. And what defines college and career ready in one state is probably very similar to what would define college and career readiness in another state. The other component of this is that the SAT and ACT exams, which are college obviously entrance exams, are aligned to Common Core standards. And so if students really do want to score well on those exams and get into the college of their choice, then chances are they’re going to have to know or be familiar with the kinds of material that Common Core expects them to be familiar with.”

Sorry, but I’ve seen the deficiencies in CC’s high school math standards. I’ve also seen how the “code words” of reform that are embedded in the standards have resulted in a tsunami of reform math practices and philosophies in many classrooms. The idea of “open ended” questions and problems, is but one of many examples of this type of thinking that has become more popular than Pokemon Go.

I’ve also seen parents who complain vilified as “old fashioned” and standing in the way of real progress. In the meantime, Sylvan, Huntington and Kumon aren’t exactly adopting constructivist tutoring services. You figure it out.

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