Tag: Common Core

Who’s Opting-Out? Recent Survey Results Show It’s Exactly Who You Think
Reform · Standards

Who’s Opting-Out? Recent Survey Results Show It’s Exactly Who You Think

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Who is the opt-out movement? As it turns out, the people promoting opting out of state assessments are exactly who you’d expect. A recent survey conducted by Assistant Professor at Teacher’s College at Columbia University Oren Pizmony-Levy and Teachers College Research Associate Nancy Green Saraisky found that an overwhelming majority of opt-out activists are white… Continue reading Who’s Opting-Out? Recent Survey Results Show It’s Exactly Who You Think

No, Leaving The Smarter Balanced Testing Consortium Would Not Save Connecticut Money
Budgets · Reform · Standards

No, Leaving The Smarter Balanced Testing Consortium Would Not Save Connecticut Money

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I hate to break to everyone, but John Bestor is wrong. Leaving the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) isn’t likely to save Connecticut money — far from it. In his recent Op-Ed for CT Viewpoints Bestor, a former school psychologist and anti-reform activist, makes the extraordinary claim that Connecticut could save money by designing a… Continue reading No, Leaving The Smarter Balanced Testing Consortium Would Not Save Connecticut Money

State Teacher’s Union’s Bogus Claims About The SBAC: The Truth From The Lies
Students

State Teacher’s Union’s Bogus Claims About The SBAC: The Truth From The Lies

meganLeave a comment

About two weeks ago, the state’s largest teacher’s union, Connecticut Education Association (CEA), held a press conference announcing their proposal to eliminate the Smarter-Balance Assessment (SBAC), the Common Core-aligned test that schools began administering statewide for the first time last year. During the conference one reporter asked a very important question that we should all… Continue reading State Teacher’s Union’s Bogus Claims About The SBAC: The Truth From The Lies

State Releases SBAC Results; Sky Still Hasn’t Fallen
Students

State Releases SBAC Results; Sky Still Hasn’t Fallen

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It’s been several hours since the State Department of Education released the much-anticipated 2014-2015 Smarter Balanced Consortium Assessment (SBAC) results, and so far, the sky is still above us, exactly where it should to be. Imagine that! The results statewide show that 55.4 of Connecticut’s 3rd through 5th and eleventh graders met or exceeded “achievement… Continue reading State Releases SBAC Results; Sky Still Hasn’t Fallen

State Teachers Union’s Recent Outcry Against Testing Is Disingenuous
Students

State Teachers Union’s Recent Outcry Against Testing Is Disingenuous

meganLeave a comment

Is it that time of year again? You know, the time of year when the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) changes its mind on a major education issue and suddenly demands that state legislators reverse decisions that they were apart of making and supported. Last year, it was the state’s teacher evaluation system – a system… Continue reading State Teachers Union’s Recent Outcry Against Testing Is Disingenuous

State BOE Expected to Appoint New Interim Education Commissioner
Students

State BOE Expected to Appoint New Interim Education Commissioner

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A new year means new leadership at the state Department of Education. With Stefan Pryor on his way to Rhode Island, the State Board of Education is expected to name veteran educator Dr. Dianna Roberger-Wentzell interim Education Commissioner at Wednesday morning’s state board meeting. Roberger-Wentzell is not new to the Connecticut education scene. A 25-year… Continue reading State BOE Expected to Appoint New Interim Education Commissioner

Washington Post Editorial: Why Are Local Unions Sabotaging the Common Core?
Students

Washington Post Editorial: Why Are Local Unions Sabotaging the Common Core?

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An editorial in the Sunday Washington Post defines the Common Core: “The Common Core is a set of objectives for student learning — not a mandated curriculum — that arose from governors, state education officials and others who understood that American children needed to raise their game to compete in the global economy. It is… Continue reading Washington Post Editorial: Why Are Local Unions Sabotaging the Common Core?

New Quinnipiac Poll Shows a Rise in Approval of Malloy’s Education Policy
Students

New Quinnipiac Poll Shows a Rise in Approval of Malloy’s Education Policy

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The results of a new Quinnipiac University poll shows, contrary to what a certain irate blogger has been spouting, Governor Malloy’s approval rating for education is on the rise. According to a press release sent out this morning, “voters approve 45 – 39 percent of the way he is handling education.” As education news site… Continue reading New Quinnipiac Poll Shows a Rise in Approval of Malloy’s Education Policy

Poll Results Show Depth of Anti-Common Core Propaganda
Students

Poll Results Show Depth of Anti-Common Core Propaganda

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The results of a UConn poll on Common Core tell a very different story, if you look at the numbers in context. Is it a poll on Americans’ views of Common Core or on the effectiveness of the anti-Common Core propaganda machine? I’d say the latter. There are some interesting data points in this poll… Continue reading Poll Results Show Depth of Anti-Common Core Propaganda

New York Times: When the Circus Descends (on the Common Core)
Students

New York Times: When the Circus Descends (on the Common Core)

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As we’re witnessing in Connecticut, “the ideological circus” has descended on the Common Core. According to New York Times columnist David Brooks in his latest opinion piece on the Common Core State Standards, pundits and extremist special interest groups from both the right and left are inciting hysteria. Brooks writes: We are pretty familiar with… Continue reading New York Times: When the Circus Descends (on the Common Core)