Well, according to the NY Post it looks like New York state scrubs common core test questions due to lack of answers provided on certain ELA and math questions given last year to New York students. It looks like with the elimination of these questions actually helped increase the overall test scores last year for New York State. Not that really made a big impact since over 60% of the students still failed both the ELA and math portions of the state tests based upon the common core. Maybe the third time is a charm with this being the third round of testing since New York converted from the much easier Regents tests to the common core tests in 2013. With $33 million on the line for Pearson (the publishers of the test) there will need to be significant improvement in this year’s scores to say that the testing is showing some significant progress over time. I suppose if they eliminate more questions from this year’s test then test scores will automatically go up…although artificially. Even though all students in the state take the annual tests for ELA and math it’s a critical score for all the fourth graders in the NYC school system since these scores can be used for admissions into some of the selective middle schools in the city. It seems like people in the city are becoming accustom to the common core curriculum and testing as there haven’t been as many parents and teachers whining this year as compared to previous years. As with anything, change is challenging for some but not as challenging as some of these questions on the common core test.
If you’re needing practice questions for ELA and math for the upcoming test go visit our friends at Testing Mom.
Well, it looks like more and more parents are opting out of common core testing, at least to this recent article in the New York Times. Not sure how the schools will determine if a student is meeting the grade standards or not. Of course, the common core testing has no impact on the little ones who encounter the NYC gifted and talented tests which is a barrage of 88 questions from the OLSAT and NNAT2 tests respectively. The movement to make the common core go extinct (like the way of the dinosaurs) has found interesting bedfellows from both sides of the aisle. The right claims it’s a government take over of the school (news flash folks! the government took over the schools 50+ years ago!) and on the left it’s the claim that poor test scores will be used to demonize teachers which threatens the teacher union establishment that has one heck of a stronghold on political outcomes in this country. The article goes on to mention that there’s a TV campaign of anti-common core testing that’s hitting the airwaves this week in New Jersey. In one of the TV ads, the dad says his first grader cried and didn’t want to karate practice because he was so stressed out about common core! Oh my, his son had to miss karate practice to sit at home and study? I can’t believe a six-year-old would whine and cry to get out of doing school work to go to karate practic What is this world coming to! I wonder if the dad paid the same amount of money to enrich his son’s education as he does spending on having his son break wood planks his son might not have common core PTSDe. Watch the drama unfold about common core testing on the TV commercial airing all over New Jersey for the next few weeks.
I think all students should have to test at least one time to see how it goes. At least the parents would then find out if their kid is even at grade level and then take matters into their own hands. So, is your kid taking the gifted and talented test? Or common core test? Or both? You can get free practice questions at Testing Mom.
NYC Gifted and Talented Program and Testing 