For years, every citizen of the United States of America has heard the disappointing statistic that its education system is failing compared to other top worldwide competitors. Governmental programs have initiated programs to fight this growing epidemic, such as the No Child Left Behind Act and Race to the Top plans. Yet there is a “widespread alarm in the United States about the state of our math education” along with English Language arts. With the hope of America bettering their education system becoming more and more like an unreachable dream, The Common Core State Standard Initiative was enacted. Its plan is to “ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and
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These tests in high school are regulated through the state and local level, but teachers are still required to follow curriculum guidelines to ensure that their students earn “proficient” or better. Common Core guarantees that “the standards” do not “tell teachers what to teach,” but teachers are also not “left to implement the standards without any support or guidance.” Teachers are expected to take these guidelines and implement them in ways they see fit, as long as their students can pass the “college readiness” test at the end of the year. At times children who do not show significant progress from one test to another, they are “punished” and receive a lesser grade or even put in a different class. John Thompson, an award-winning historian and inner-city teacher, explains the importance of Advanced Placement classes because it is not as focused on “incentives and disincentives” because students benefit from taking the class regardless. This establishes a win-win program because students are not punished for taking the AP exam at the end of the year, even if they do not earn college credit for it. AP classes allow for children to think “outside the box” and allow teachers more freedom to teach their class …show more content…
Nonetheless, the standards do not “provide a clear and consistent framework” depending on location and demographics of the school. It is merely common knowledge that schools that traffic middle to upper-class students perform better academically than students who come from lower-income households. The Common Core Initiative has widened this gap even more so than it has been in past years. If the initiative is “based on rigorous content,” then states with higher standards will “have to accept lower standards” while lower performing schools must raise their standards. This is a disservice to the “working class and poor children” that are being “left behind” more so than ever before. The new state standard tests “set the bar so high that most students were sure to fail,” and many did. This not only affects the students, but it results in teachers being judged on test grades just as much as their students. Causing them to lose their jobs, or simply move to another school with higher-performing students. This system is failing the those with disadvantages and benefitting those with advantages. The standards are being compared “to standards in other countries,”
These tests in high school are regulated through the state and local level, but teachers are still required to follow curriculum guidelines to ensure that their students earn “proficient” or better. Common Core guarantees that “the standards” do not “tell teachers what to teach,” but teachers are also not “left to implement the standards without any support or guidance.” Teachers are expected to take these guidelines and implement them in ways they see fit, as long as their students can pass the “college readiness” test at the end of the year. At times children who do not show significant progress from one test to another, they are “punished” and receive a lesser grade or even put in a different class. John Thompson, an award-winning historian and inner-city teacher, explains the importance of Advanced Placement classes because it is not as focused on “incentives and disincentives” because students benefit from taking the class regardless. This establishes a win-win program because students are not punished for taking the AP exam at the end of the year, even if they do not earn college credit for it. AP classes allow for children to think “outside the box” and allow teachers more freedom to teach their class …show more content…
Nonetheless, the standards do not “provide a clear and consistent framework” depending on location and demographics of the school. It is merely common knowledge that schools that traffic middle to upper-class students perform better academically than students who come from lower-income households. The Common Core Initiative has widened this gap even more so than it has been in past years. If the initiative is “based on rigorous content,” then states with higher standards will “have to accept lower standards” while lower performing schools must raise their standards. This is a disservice to the “working class and poor children” that are being “left behind” more so than ever before. The new state standard tests “set the bar so high that most students were sure to fail,” and many did. This not only affects the students, but it results in teachers being judged on test grades just as much as their students. Causing them to lose their jobs, or simply move to another school with higher-performing students. This system is failing the those with disadvantages and benefitting those with advantages. The standards are being compared “to standards in other countries,”