COMMON CORE - September 18, 2015

Delaware Common Core Test Results Show Lingering Achievement Gaps. The Wilmington (DE) News Journal (9/17, Albright) reports that the first set of results from Delaware’s Common Core-aligned Smarter Balanced assessments show that “students who are minorities, come from low-income families, have disabilities or are learning English all continue to lag their fellow students academically by a wide margin.” Preliminary results had showed overall declines in proficiency, and the new results showed greater aggregated detail. The piece reports that the gaps are similar to past years.         The AP (9/18) reports that the results show “a continuing achievement gap between black students and other subgroups,” noting that “only 36 percent of black students met the proficiency standards on the English test, compared to 40 percent of Hispanic students, 55 percent of multiracial students, 64 percent of white students and 80 percent of Asian-American students.” Louisiana DOE To Release Common Core Results In November. The Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate (9/18) reports that education officials in Louisiana will release Common Core test results in November, “there already is controversy bubbling around the scores.” The piece notes that a state BESE advisory panel saw “disputes” over how the results should be used on Thursday.         The AP (9/18) reports that one point of contention was how the “state will handle school and district scores for students who skipped the exams.”         Papers Call On Jindal To Drop Lawsuit. The New Orleans Times-Picayune (9/17) editorializes that Jindal is aware that his lawsuit alleging that the Common Core Standards are “a federal program” and “infringe on the state’s power to decide what children are taught” is baseless, accusing him of “tilting at the Common Core windmill” to prop up his presidential bid. The paper blasts his plan to appeal the ruling, calling it a waste of taxpayer money.         An editorial in the Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate (9/17) expresses a similar view, saying the state “is doing the right thing” by adhering to the standards, while “doing the political thing, trying desperately to find a judge who will agree that the much-debated Common Core standards are some kind of threat to Louisiana’s children.” Long Island Teachers, Parents Protest Common Core. Newsday (NY) (9/18) reports that parents and teachers in over a dozen Long Island towns took part in a “‘Take Back the Classroom’ protest against the Common Core curriculum and associated teacher evaluations” on Thursday. Protesters urged parents to opt children out of tests and called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to roll back “the state’s education reform agenda.” Ohio Tweaks Ratings To Increase Number Of Students Deemed Proficient. The Cleveland Plain Dealer (9/18) reports that the Ohio BOE voted Tuesday “to break from the standards set by the 12 states still in PARCC and label students as ‘Proficient’ that fall a little short of PARCC’s performance expectations.” Under the plan, students in the “nearing expectations” range will be classified “proficient.” The piece notes that “a little more than a third of students would be graded as meeting standards” had the state kept the original metric.