The article discusses U.S. standardized tests. It offers information about Common Core State standards, the U.S. Every Student Succeeds Act, and the use of digital technology for administrating standardized tests. Other topics include the next generation science standards and helping students alleviate anxiety related to standardized test-taking.

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NewsU.S. Federal3100 WordsApr 18, 2018Crispin WestonNewstex Blogs
... My main argument is contained in my Why Curriculum Matters[1]. In this three-part follow-up series, I shall look at the ...
... would be my policy recommendations for a new government focus on curriculum. Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Schools, made a series of high-profile statements about the curriculum in the autumn of last year, including, for example, her speech ...
... Spielman argues (along with much of the teaching profession) that the curriculum has been narrowed as teachers have focused on teaching to the test , driven by measures of school accountability that do not serve ...
... exacerbated by 'a lack of clarity around the language of the curriculum' which has led to 'competing notions of what curriculum means across the sector'. The end-result has been 'a weak theoretical understanding of curriculum' in schools. Spielman argues that teachers should be given the freedom to place more emphasis on the curriculum , which (if, she suggests, you understand the term properly) encapsulates ...
... of education'. They should not be forced to teach to the test, which 'can only ever sample the knowledge that has been gained' and does not test 'the whole domain that is of matter to the pupil'. They ...

With adoption of the Common Core (CCSS) in a majority of U.S. states came development of new high-stakes exams. Though researchers have investigated CCSS and related policies, less attention has been directed toward understanding how standards are translated into testing. Due to the influence that high-stakes tests exert on classroom teaching, research is needed to investigate what kinds of changes in test content are associated with CCSS, as well as the potential impact of these changes on students and teachers. Accordingly, this case study examines changes made to one high-stakes exam by comparing pre- and post-CCSS literacy tests administered to high school students in New York. The study responds to the following: (1) How did the adoption of CCSS alter the design of high school literacy exams in New York? (2) To what extent do exams represent measures of college readiness as opposed to early college equivalence? (3) What are the implications of CCSS exam adaptations for the goal of preparing students to be college and career ready? Findings suggest that the rush to implement more rigorous CCSS exams resulted in an exceedingly long and difficult exam that is more representative of early college equivalence rather than of college readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how the Opt Out Movement threw into relief 2 different ways of thinking about unionism with New York City's United Federation of Teachers (UFT). Topics discusses include President Michael Mulgrew's support for the Common Core State Standard (CCSS) and standardized testing and their refusal to support Opt Out while rank-and-file UFTers in the Movement of Rank and File Educators caucus joined Opt Out movement as part of the struggle against education reform.

This study examines Middle School Mathematics Teachers' (MSMTs') (N = 1,241) perceptions of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and its impact on the instructional environment. A total of eight factors appear in the data. These factors include professional support, teachers' use of district-adopted and non-district-adopted curricular resources, influence of CCSSM assessment and teacher evaluation on the instructional environment, influence of the CCSSM on classroom instruction, teachers' planning practices, and perceived rigor of the CCSSM. The data suggest that teachers' use of digital resources located online was disconnected from their district-adopted resources suggesting a lack of curricular coherence. MSMTs note that the CCSSM had caused them to incorporate more reform-oriented practices such as exploration and productive struggle into their daily instruction. MSMTs also perceive that the CCSSM includes new content that is more rigorous than previous state standards. Sampled MSMTs state that while state assessments will measure CCSSM content, they are less likely to include more complex problems or the standards for mathematical practice. Teachers are more likely to read teacher resources than student textbook activities online and to use digital resources for remediation instead of inquiry activities. Over one-third of MSMTs wanted more CCSSM professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]