Teachers union in New York votes against Common Core!
This just up from Politico regarding pushback on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS):
“The board of the New York state teachers union this weekend unanimously withdrew its support for the Common Core standards as they have been implemented — a major blow for Common Core advocates who have been touting support from teachers as proof that the standards will succeed in classrooms nationwide.”
Politico continues:
“Now, one of the biggest groups of educators in the country is on record saying it’s not working.”
A few issues that have riled New York’s teachers:
• Teachers want more time to review the Common Core lessons,
• Teachers want more input on whether they are grade-appropriate,
• The standards push the youngest kids too fast,
• The high-school math Common Core omitted key math concepts, does not push top students to take calculus, and
• Teachers want all questions on the new Common Core exams to be released so teachers can figure out exactly what is wanted in the new program.
Read the full Politico article here. And, click the “Read more” link below to see how some of the issues from New York are at play in Kentucky, as well, whether or not some education leaders in this state want to admit that.
Some of the concerns now formally raised by New York teachers are no surprise to our regular readers.
The implementation of Common Core was even more rushed in Kentucky, which started Common Core testing a year ahead of New York. If New York is still having problems after delaying introduction for an extra year, it seems inevitable that there are issues in the Bluegrass State, as well.
Despite claims from some Kentucky education leaders, teachers across the country obviously didn’t have much effective input into Common Core. Evidence of that includes the existence of the age-inappropriate issues. If teachers had been effectively involved, this would not have become a major complaint across the country.
The high school math standards essentially cut off with 10th grade subjects, leaving kids who want to go on to more challenging programs, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics, without any support for the courses they need in the last two years of high school. In fact, the lack of standards could actually act as an inducement for some smaller school districts to drop such coursework altogether.
Test question secrecy is also fanning flames. In addition to teachers not getting a good idea about what they are expected to teach, right or wrong, many parents are charging the questions their children have to answer delve into inappropriate subject areas. Since the actual questions are not available, there is no way to counter those concerns.
To be sure, teachers in New York tend to be quicker on the trigger than teachers in Kentucky, but the problems both face from Common Core are similar. With their compatriots in the Empire State lodging on-target complaints and now formally voting against the current form of the CCSS, unrest is likely to surface in Kentucky, as well.
So, how’s that again about the Common Core issues being “settled,” as Kentucky House Education Chair Derrick Graham claimed a few days ago? If you believe that, I’ll bet some teachers in New York will be glad to sell you that bridge you always hear about in similar discussions.