Blog Posts
Why Common Core Failed
More than a decade after the 2010 release of Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics, no convincing evidence exists that the standards had a significant, positive impact on student achievement. My forthcoming book next month—“ Between the State and the Schoolhouse: Understanding the Failure of Common Core ”—explores Common Core from the initiative’s promising beginnings to its disappointing outcomes.
[...] Read more »The Children PISA Ignores in China
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) administers tests in reading, math, and science to 15-year-olds around the world. The latest results were released earlier this month in Paris. Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA’s parent organization, opened the proceedings.
[...] Read more »What to Look for in the 2017 NAEP Results
Scores from the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) will be released in the coming weeks. NAEP is often referred to as “the nation’s report card,” providing a reliably accurate estimate of national academic achievement every two years. Fourth and eighth graders took NAEP assessments in reading, mathematics, and writing in early 2017. Scores will be reported for the nation and the 50 states, along with 24 urban districts.[1]
[...] Read more »Common Core's Major Political Challenges for the Remainder of 2016
The 2016 Brown Center Report (BCR), which was published last week, presented a study of Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In this post, I’d like to elaborate on a topic touched upon but deserving further attention: what to expect in Common Core’s immediate political future. I discuss four key challenges that CCSS will face between now and the end of the year.
[...] Read more »No, the Sky Is Not Falling: Interpreting the Latest SAT Scores
Earlier this month, the College Board released SAT scores for the high school graduating class of 2015. Both math and reading scores declined from 2014, continuing a steady downward trend that has been in place for the past decade. Pundits of contrasting political stripes seized on the scores to bolster their political agendas. Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Foundation argued that falling SAT scores show that high schools need more reform, presumably those his organization supports, in particular, charter schools and accountability.* For Carol Burris of the Network for Public Education, the declining scores were evidence of the failure of polices her organization opposes, namely, Common Core, No Child Left Behind, and accountability.
[...] Read more »