Wash. one of 24 states piloting new national tests
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington is one of 24 states trying out the new exams tied to the national "common core" standards in math and English language arts.
About 6,000 schools are voluntarily participating in the pilot project this year. The tests are scheduled to be given in all 24 states starting during the 2014-15 school year.
The questions in the online exams are tied to the new national standards that are already being used in Washington and dozens of other states.
The pilot will help the creators of the test, a group known as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, to measure the effectiveness of their test, not judge student learning. The test creators are based in Olympia, Wash.
About 6,000 schools are voluntarily participating in the pilot project this year. The tests are scheduled to be given in all 24 states starting during the 2014-15 school year.
The questions in the online exams are tied to the new national standards that are already being used in Washington and dozens of other states.
The pilot will help the creators of the test, a group known as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, to measure the effectiveness of their test, not judge student learning. The test creators are based in Olympia, Wash.
At this point in time, the public school system should have perfected teaching yet all we hear is excuses for failure and why we need more changes.
Your comment assumes that there can be a fundamental difference in the minimum level education that students in different states receive. You want states to decide what their children learn, but what if a state decides that addition and subtraction is all the math its students need to graduate? At some point, the rest of the country needs to call BS and insist that the state do a better job. We are not a libertarian or anarchist society. We're all in this together, and it's very important that we ensure all children receive at least a minimal education.
And while we are busy trying to find out if another "bright idea" will work the kids will still be left behind. There's any number of ways that parents and teachers can tell if a child is not learning or if they are falling behind. Just teach the basics and quit worry about all these tests that just delay further educating the children properly. Our children are not an experiment or a trial and error way of doing things.
@Jatok You're assuming that all teaches are interested in teaching all children. Many of the students I went to school with received passing grades even though it was obvious they didn't understand the material. Many teachers just wanted to get the troublemakers up and out.
I already know there are teachers who shouldn't even be in a classroom. Unfortunately the last place they look to improve things is teachers and administration. This is the same type of stuff that was going on 30 years ago. It's sad that generation after generation we are letting the kids education be mediocre while the schools dicker over politics, money, and some very absurd approaches to fix the problems.
I really would like to see some sample questions. I don't have a problem with teaching to the test as long as the test is measuring useful skills and knowledge.
How come all the politicians say they want to abolish the dept of education, but none do anything about it. We need to keep the federal government out of local education. I don't want Congress or the President teaching my kids how to balance a checkbook.
Well, they finally did it. The feds have been angling to take over education for quite awhile. With nationalized testing you have to have a nationalize curriculum courtesy of uncle sam.....these guys think they are great at everything. If you think the school lunch dictates suck wait to you see what they demand be taught.