California has embarked on a course to fundamentally reshape how every student is taught and tested.
These new “common core standards” for grades K-12 go into effect in fall 2014 for English language arts and math. Revisions to the curriculum and assessments for other subjects, such as science and history, will follow in later years.
“It’s the biggest change in our careers, in a lifetime in education,” said Bob Wells, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators.
Here are a few reasons why:
• Tests will emphasize critical thinking instead of fill-in-the-blank answers.
• Students will be challenged to not only come up with the correct response but explain how they arrived at the answer.
• Specialized computer programs will automatically adjust follow-up questions when a student answers one incorrectly. This will provide a clearer picture of what the student has already learned and still needs to grasp.
• Tests will be given throughout the school year as well as at the end to provide quicker feedback to teachers and parents.
• In kindergarten classroom lessons, students will be asked to explain and expound on their answers to questions.
• In high school, more class presentations will use podcasts, animation and websites.
Almost every state has adopted the standards put together by a national consortium and refined to meet local expectations.
Educators are deep in preparations. In San Diego Unified, teachers are holding training sessions. In Sacramento, a Department of Education advisory committee has begun reviewing supplemental materials and will draft a framework to guide districts.
“It’s pulling everyone forward,” said Lori Freiermuth, who teaches algebra at Olympian High School in Chula Vista and serves on the statewide Instructional Quality Commission, which is advising the state board on curriculum issues.
“If I did not believe this is what is best for kids, I would not be on the bandwagon,” said Freiermuth, stressing she was speaking personally. “We need to make sure our students are ready to compete in a world economy and a world job market.”
Not everyone is on the bandwagon. A number of critics are not convinced the standards are a marked improvement over the current requirements, particularly given the cost that some critics place at $2 billion statewide for new books, materials and training. (The California Department of Education does not have a cost estimate, primarily because the state has suspended the purchase of materials and the standards and tests are not yet fully implemented.)
“California’s current standards are excellent; these are duplicative,” said Doug Lasken, a retired teacher from Woodland Hills who has been consulting and writing on issues related to common core.
“This is a terrible time to be spending $2 billion on something we do not need,” he said.
Ze’ev Wurman, a Silicon Valley software architect who has served on academic advisory panels, is particularly critical of the eighth-grade algebra option, arguing there is not enough preparation for that subject in the seventh grade. He is also critical of the approach to geometry, saying it is “completely experimental.”
Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat and chairman of the Education Committee, says the new approach to testing will have lasting value.
“It’s going to move us away from teaching to fill in a little bubble with a No. 2 pencil,” he said.