California Districts Preparing For Common Core

The San Bernardino (CA) County Sun (5/8, Ryan) reports on the efforts that Illinois districts are making toward "preparing for a new set of teaching strategies and tests that will start in 2014," noting that they are "studying and debating," "looking for new funding," and "training. ... What districts are doing less and less is preparing students for multiple choice questions...which many say represents the worst of the standardized testing that dominated the decade after passage of the No Child Left Behind Act because deducing the right answer requires little understanding of the subject. Administrators say they're eager to see that era replaced by the adoption of Common Core Standards across most states -- California is among 44 that have signed on so far -- that backers say emphasize in-depth learning, collaboration and critical thinking."