The Contentious Common Core Controversy

Some blog followers might be interested in a recent post “The Contentious Common Core Controversy” [Hake (2013)]. The abstract reads:

ABSTRACT: The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) http://www.corestandards.org/ have engendered considerable controversy - see e.g., “Resistance to Common Core standards growing” [Strauss (2013)] at http://wapo.st/Y7kwdK. Stimulated by Diane Ravitch’s (2013) admonition at http://bit.ly/XGpEpK “to think critically about the standards,” I searched Google for “Common Core State Standards” to obtain 3,010,000 hits at http://bit.ly/15QLBZR on 03 March 2013 10:15-0800. Careful consideration of all those leads me to suggest the following sixteen as especially valuable:

ANTI- CCSS
1. “Eight problems with Common Core Standards” [Brady (2012)] at http://wapo.st/15Z4kTg.

2. “Engineering Good Math Tests” [Burkhardt (2012)] at http://bit.ly/VaJgpp;

3. “How Common Core will change testing in schools” [Krashen (2012)] at http://wapo.st/12bt9w5;

4. “Debunking the Case for National Standards: One-Size-Fits-All Mandates and Their Dangers” [Kohn (2010)] at http://bit.ly/Z0xoUV;

5. “Do young kids need to learn a lot of facts? ” [Miller & Carlsson-Paige (2013)] at http://wapo.st/13oJVqW.

6. “Whoo-Hoo! Occupy the Schools” [Ohanian (2013)] at http://bit.ly/XGs4oq;

7. “Why I Cannot Support the Common Core Standards” [Ravitch (2013)] at
http://bit.ly/XGpEpK;

8. “Do We Need a Common Core? ” [Tampio (2012)] at http://huff.to/ZBaDb6.

PRO-CCSS
9. “Creating a Comprehensive System for Evaluating and Supporting Effective Teaching” [Darling-Hammond et al. (2012)] at http://stanford.io/Wj1w1E;

10. “Standards Worth Attaining” Finn (2012) at http://bit.ly/XHtS0k;

11. “A Common Core Standards defense” [Hirsch (2013)] at http://wapo.st/Y1gwvk;

12. “What English classes should look like in Common Core era” [Jago (2013)] at
http://wapo.st/XdE2cM;

13. “International Lessons About National Standards” [Schmidt, Houang, & Shakrani (2009)] at http://bit.ly/xPjmJ4.

14. “Seizing the Moment for Mathematics” [Schmidt (2012)] at http://bit.ly/Z0BbS2;

15. “On Naked Standards - And Free Curriculum” Tucker (2012) at http://bit.ly/Y531xl;

16. “The Case for National Standards” [Weingarten (2009)] at http://wapo.st/XbIJ6K.

For an earlier review of the pros and cons of the Common Core Standards see “National Education Standards for the United States? ” [Hake (2009)] at http://bit.ly/Z0DMLK. In a subsequent post I shall discuss the “Next Generation Science Standards” (NGSS) http://bit.ly/y1gJPx and their relationship to the “Common Core State Standards. ”
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Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
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"I have come to the conclusion that the Common Core standards effort is fundamentally flawed by the process with which they have been foisted upon the nation. . . . . They were developed by an organization called Achieve and the National Governors Association both of which were generously funded by the Gates Foundation. . . . . Their creation was neither grassroots nor did it emanate from the states. . . . . . it was well understood by states that they would not be eligible for Race to the Top funding unless they adopted the Common Core standards. . . . . "
- Diane Ravitch (2013) at http://bit.ly/XGpEpK

"The countries that consistently outperform the United States on international assessments all have national standards, with core curriculum, assessments and time for professional development for teachers based on those standards. . . . . Should fate, as determined by a student's Zip code, dictate how much algebra he or she is taught? . . . . Education is a local issue, but there is a body of knowledge about what children should know and be able to do that should guide decisions about curriculum and testing."
- Randi Weingarten (2009), president of the American Federation of Teachers at http://wapo.st/XbIJ6K.

"So much orchestrated attention is being showered on the Common Core Standards, the main reason for poor student performance is being ignored - a level of childhood poverty the consequences of which no amount of schooling can effectively counter."
- Marion Brady (2012) at http://wapo.st/15Z4kTg.

REFERENCES [URL shortened by http://bit.ly/ and accessed on 03 March 2013.]
Hake, R.R. 2013. “The Contentious Common Core Controversy,” online on the OPEN! AERA-H archives at http://bit.ly/Y7ocMv. Post of 3 Mar 2013 11:01:22 to AERA-H and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to several discussion lists.

Question About AP #2

Some blog followers might be interested in discussion-list post “Question About AP #2” [Hake (2011b)].

The abstract reads:

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ABSTRACT: In my post “Re: Question About AP” [Hake (2011a) http://bit.ly/i3uB5u], I answered a question effectively posed by Standardisto-basher Susan Ohanian: “Anyone know of research questioning Advanced Placement?” Physicist Bernard Cleyet, noting that Susan had run an interview with Hans Ohanian regarding his 2008 book Einstein's Mistakes http://amzn.to/hLUbY0 asked (paraphrasing): “Is Susan Ohanian any relation to Hans Ohanian?”

In this post “Question About AP #2” [Hake (2011b)] I point out that:

1. Susan, in her comment http://bit.ly/feISk7 on Valerie Strauss’ (2004) “Back to Basics vs. Hands-On Instruction,” answered Cleyet’s question indirectly by writing “When a team of 4th grade investigators rediscovered Newton’s law of gravity. . . . . my husband, the Ph.D. physicist, confirmed the results.” Thus it’s a good bet that Susan and Hans are married.

2. Little known to historians of education reform, Stauss’ report played a key role in the CA State Board of Education’s sudden decision on 10 March 2004 to replace its demand that “instructional materials must compose NO MORE than 20 to 25 percent of hands-on activities” with the opposite demand that “instructional materials must compose AT LEAST 20 to 25 percent of hands-on activities”! Who says science journalism is unimportant? This amazing story of California’s wacky education politics is detailed in “Direct Science Instruction Suffers Setback in California - Or Does It?” [Hake (2004) http://bit.ly/aWsazm].

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To access the complete 14 kB post please click on http://bit.ly/f1k7jR.

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University

Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands

President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII)

rrhake@earthlink.net

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi

http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com

http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake

“If you try to introduce people. . . . .[[such as the direct-instruction-obsessed CA State Board of Education]]. . . to a paradigm shift, they will hear what you have to say and then interpret your words in terms of their old paradigm. What does not fit, they will not hear.”

Myron Tribus (2001)

REFERENCES [All URL’s accessed on 14 April 2011 and shortened by http://bit.ly/.]

Hake, R.R. 2011a. “Re: Question About AP” online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at http://bit.ly/i3uB5u. Post of 11 Apr 2011 16:43:01-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post were distributed to various discussion lists and are also online on my blog “Hake'sEdStuff” at http://bit.ly/gaORYu with a provision for comments.

Hake, R.R. 2011b. “Question About AP #2” online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at http://bit.ly/f1k7jR. Post of 13 Apr 2011 20:39:27-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being distributed to various discussion lists.

Tribus, M. 2001. “Quality in Education According to the Teachings of Deming and Feuerstein,” online as a 78 kB pdf at http://bit.ly/hwcbjn. A Wikipedia entry on Myron Tribus is at http://bit.ly/g5uGEk.