Common Core News

New York Superintendents Call On Congress To Scale Back Testing.

Newsday (NY) (10/5) reports that over 300 New York district superintendents “petitioned Congress this week to abolish requirements for annual testing of students in grades three through eight.” The administrators’ letter, which argued that assessment policy should be locally originated, “reflected frustrations with a testing system that was boycotted in April by more than 200,000 students statewide – the biggest such movement in the country.”

WP Analysis: Ohio’s Interpretation Of Test Results “Threatens” Common Core’s Promise.

In an analysis piece, the Washington Post (10/4, Layton) reports that Ohio’s new test scores are “the latest sign that a central promise of Common Core — that states would have the same math and reading standards and use the same tests — is further unraveling.” The Post reports that state officials have chosen to interpret their test results in a different way, deciding that “that students don’t have to actually meet the common college- and career-ready standards in order to be deemed proficient — they just have to “approach” those standards.” According to the Post, this decision inflates “the performance of their students,” making “it tricky to compare Ohio with the rest of the country.”

Common Core Switch Flusters Some Parents.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (10/5) reported that the shift to Common Core has “left many parents feeling flustered by elementary school worksheets.” Part of the issue is that “the language is different,” but, also, students have “the latitude to solve problems in multiple ways.” To help with this, the Hazelwood School District offers “Parent U” workshops to help the parents adapt.

Jindal’s Spending Resisting Common Core Blasted.

In an editorial, the New Orleans Times-Picayune (10/4) criticized Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal as wasting taxpayer money in his continued resistance to the Common Core academic standards, despite court rulings against him. The Times-Picayune argues that Jindal is “focused on the presidency” and Louisiana has become “a prop for his campaign,” adding, “spending $830,000 in public money on political vanity is obscene — particularly given Louisiana’s current budget woes.”