Recently,
the President of New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) has been meeting with school boards and members
of the Assembly in order to address the concerns NJEA, teachers, and parents
are having with the implementation of the Common Core Standards. NJEA believes that there is a disconnect between the Common Core and the new
teacher evaluation system. The NJEA president wanted to make it clear that the
NJEA supports the use of the Common Core Standards, but does not agree with the
way in which the Common Core is being implemented at this time. NJEA believes that the implementation of the Common Core is being
rushed and teachers have not been given enough time to understand the
standards, to
adapt and refine their schools curriculum to meet those very important standards.
In addition, there is concern about the amount of time and professional
learning opportunities available in order for teachers to learn about how they
can adjust their teaching strategies.
The second point the NJEA president,
Wendell Steinhauer, made is that the NJEA, teachers and parents feel that, “the
Department of Education is also rushing to implement a new evaluation and
standardized testing regimen that in many ways is contrary to what the Common
Core is designed to accomplish.” Within
the Common Core, teachers are encouraged to collaborate with other teachers.
However, teachers are now being held solely responsible for their individual students’
test scores. This link between student
scores and teacher accountability is a huge part of the new evaluation system.
So, even though the Common Core encourages collaboration, the test scores that are
supposed to evaluate teachers are not
taking into consideration the fact that other teachers and other educational
factors contribute to student success. Additionally, NJEA fears that by putting
such great weight on student test scores,
teachers in these grades will feel “forced
to teach toward the test.” Therefore, the NJEA president has asked that the New
Jersey Legislature help teachers by giving them the time and resources to
implement the Common Core the correct way and, at the same time, help fix the
teacher evaluation system so that it can measure what the Common Core truly values.
Do you have any opinion about this Common Core implementation? What do you hear
teachers saying with regard to this Common Core implementation? Do you believe
that there is a danger in having teachers rated on how well their students do
on a standardized test? Should teachers be evaluated in connection with the Common
Core?
The
link to the article to which I am referring is listed below.
I think the Common Core is taking the creativity out of students and teachers. Many of the teachers that I have observed are so concerned with teaching to the test that they follow the book to a tee. I also feel like the common core has taken away from unique teacher made lesson plans. It is almost like teachers are scared to be creative( or use their own lessons), in fear that it will not align with the common core. I also feel like the common core will make the classroom more uniformed, causing teachers to almost become robots. I do not think any of the teachers in my school district are a fan of this, its too much work. I do not think any teacher should be measured by how well a student preforms on a standardized test. Some students are not good test takers, why should a teacher be held accountable for that?
ReplyDeleteI think the common core standards make sense in the long run. This way every state will be on the same page in all subjects. However the way that the common core is being taught is in a more logical approach so that students can develop these skills for the PARC assessment. One of the biggest issues parents have is the fact that they were not taught in this way. For students who struggle with math for example they are being forced to learn it a certain way.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of teachers and educators that have a problem with the implementation of the Common Core. One of the complaints is that teachers do not have as much flexibility and do not have the ability to do more hands on things. The reason for this is because the workbooks that are related to the Common Core are so strategic and so organized that you cannot deviate from them. I think it is great to teach to the Common Core but I do not think it should be so forced. If teachers do teach to the Common Core and are evaluated based on their individual students yet are to collaborate with other teachers, it just does not make sense. I think that the Common Core and the new teacher evaluations need to get on the same page and decide what works best. I feel that this is just not planned out very well and as a result will end up messing everything up and causing problems.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that teacher should have the pressure of standardized test. It cause them to teach to the test. Along with the teachers felling the pressure the student feel the pressure as well because the teacher is stressing the test.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is a danger in having teachers rated on how well their students do on a standardize test. I think teachers should be given a workshop to further understand the standards and how to implement them in their curriculum. Teachers are being pressured, and are teaching to the test. Students spend majority of class time taking practice tests, comprehension tests, and math drills. I think students are feeling pressure now as well.
ReplyDelete