Who is refusing Common Core tests for 3rd-8th graders?

[Happy Snowman]

Is that a state school, because that is what we are discussing- whether state schools should waste tax money on athletic programs?

No, you started this by saying any Non-Major DI school.....and every other school should just forget sports....

 

[kandb]

I opted my 2-fifth graders out because I do not believe in common core and see no reason why they changed it. The math is more confusing.

My daughter has straight A's but she was having some difficulty in reading comprehension, so I hired a teacher from the school to tudor her. I asked her her personal opinion about the testing and she said if she had children in the school she would opt them out. She said the test is not ready to be given to children.

 

[tvguy]

Thought of this thread today when I saw that the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. PTA, and Teachers Union are holding a big pow wow today show support for the testing and push for the success of students.

 

[Ceila]

Thought of this thread today when I saw that the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. PTA, and Teachers Union are holding a big pow wow today show support for the testing and push for the success of students.

Link? Which state and which test?

 

[tvguy]

Link? Which state and which test?

California.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr15/yr15rel19.asp

 

[Twende]

A friend just posted this to me. It is a teacher friend of hers from Ohio. I no longer have school age kids and I had not realized how much "testing" was being done.

 

[htmom]

Watching that was heartbreaking. A teacher that obviously loves and cares for her students. What an amazing woman. The amount of testing is unreal. I didn't want to come back to this thread at all. But seeing this has brought me to the point where I realize that I need to do much more research on these tests. I went to two schools parental information seminars but I feel that I don't have nearly enough information about this.

 

[jodifla]

This is an actual practice question from the Common Core M-Step test in Michigan. I dare anyone to find the "right" answers:

 

[NewRVLady]

Yesterday, the local news channel put a sample math question on their Facebook site
Homestly, with grown kids-I had not paid attention to this matter

and _I was an A student in HS and college in math-esp trigonometry-a real Math nerd-BUT this was back in the 1970's

the math example shown was the most BIZARRE thing I had ever seen and made no sense whatsoever!!
I really feel sorry for kids nowadays

 

[jodifla]

No takers on the test item?

 

[leebee]

No takers on the test item?

OK, I'll play.

FIRST… reading the directions about the highlighter, the crossing out, etc., I am ready to quit.

On to the question. In reading the preface, it says that in the report the student included an opinion, and the question asks which two notes support his opinion. I think the correct approach is to first identify the opinion (rather than facts stated in the report) and then decide what the kid might have chosen to help him form this opinion. I will say that the statement, "To go from one place to another, riding a bike is better than riding in a car," is the opinion. Now, why would the student think this is better? I will guess that F is one of the answers (because it's an opinion that supports the opinion that riding a bike is better). The second one might be C, thinking that that is an opinion because actually factors change and riding might NOT be faster than walking.

Honestly, it all beats the heck out of me. However, I know how the majority of my students will handle this. They'll be puzzled and frustrated, click on two random answers, and move on. As I've said all along, these tests are inappropriate, poorly written, and bad (and that's opinion; we'll know after they are graded if it's fact or not? LOL- mostly.)

 

[castleview]

Can't see any valid reason to opt out. What is the benefit of opting out?

I can tell you mine: My kids aren't playing a part in this game designed to damage public education. Neither of my younger two who are opting out have test anxiety issues at all. My middle schooler actually has one of the highest averages in her class. But these tests are unproven, not being made available for teachers and schools to see when they are completed, and suck up way too much instruction time. I'm fine with standardized testing (prefer Iowa style tests to anything over Pearson) so that school staff can see where they are at...but these tests are being used to attack teachers, punish schools, and only play into the hands of privatizers looking to get their hands on public dollars through bogus consulting, charter schools, and other contracts out of the local school board's hands.

 

[jrmasm]

No takers on the test item?

G) None of the above

 

[FlightlessDuck]

This is an actual practice question from the Common Core M-Step test in Michigan. I dare anyone to find the "right" answers:

Huh. Wow. That sucks. But, let's see if I can figure this out.

The opinion relates to reasons why you should ride a bike to get places. The first sentence talks specifically vs cars, but then the parking part isn't necessarily related:

A & D are about safety, so those don't relate. B is about learning to ride, so that doesn't relate.

C, E, and F are all notes related to reasons why riding a bike is good. But none of them relates to bikes vs. cars.

I'm guess C, E, and F are all right, but you only have to select 2 of them.

 

[sam_gordon]

This is an actual practice question from the Common Core M-Step test in Michigan. I dare anyone to find the "right" answers:

I'll admit I had to read it a couple times, but then I realized what they're asking...

The student made an opinion that riding a bike is better than a car and they want test takers to identify two notes that support that. As FD said above, C, E, and F all support that opinion. Part of what was blocking me is I am so used to questions like this having the answers refer DIRECTLY back to the paragraph above. So I was looking for notes that related to the paragraph. That's not what they're asking for. They want notes that support his OPINION.

Assuming kids are being taught to think that way, I don't see a problem with the question. Yes, that's a big assumption. But we (as parents) shouldn't say "the way we know how to do things is the only way the best way."

ETA: C would be an incorrect answer because it doesn't support biking is better than cars.

 

[jrmasm]

What grade is the test for?

 

[jodifla]

What grade is the test for?

I believe it's 5th.

 

[AnAmericanInDisney]

No takers on the test item?

e and f. They support that riding a bike is better than driving a car.

5th graders would not get that. What a stupid test question. I should write test questions.

After a second glance, that's not even the answer. You highlight the opinion: "To go from one place to another, riding a bike is better than driving a car." Then, you use the "cross out tool" to cross out a, b, and c.

This has got to be a joke. Kids would have to go to computer training to learn how to use all the visual tools, and the kids with computer experience would have a distinct advantage. Kids who are inexperienced on the computer would be screwed.

I don't think the answer could be "c," because c supports the opinion that riding a bike is better than walking, not driving.

 

[sam_gordon]

e and f. They support that riding a bike is better than driving a car.

5th graders would not get that. What a stupid test question. I should write test questions.

Have you been in a 5th grade class recently? How do you know what they've been taught? Maybe teachers ARE teaching them to think analytically. Even if you have a 5th grader who doesn't "get it", that doesn't mean ALL 5th graders would miss it.

 

[AnAmericanInDisney]

Have you been in a 5th grade class recently? How do you know what they've been taught? Maybe teachers ARE teaching them to think analytically. Even if you have a 5th grader who doesn't "get it", that doesn't mean ALL 5th graders would miss it.

I've taught that grade. They wouldn't get it. You didn't get it, either, lol.