All the wrong answers: The

effects of common core

Cameron Trujillo
December 8th, 2014

Tests, Tests, and more Tests

In 2013 Utah students were found to be 40% proficient in key areas of study according to
the new Sage Test that is aligned with Common Core.
This raises questions: Are the students failing or is the system failing the students? And how
exactly are students successes measured? Will stacks of test scores accurately measure
what students have learned?
Common core is failing, not our schools.

Support for Common Core is dropping:

Why?

Standards do not educate people in and of themselves.

Progress can be made through a number of other factors, including closing the gap in
the opportunity to learn for low-income and minority students.
Matching students against common core standards are futile. Schools and teachers are
organized and taught to teach under a totally different system.
It is not fair or productive to change the rules of the game for students.

Common Core Curriculum Writers wanted:

No educational experience needed

Another reason common core will most

certainly fail: As illustrated by this political
Cartoon, the left hand believes it knows
What's best for the right.

Common Core will only put us behind:

Public v. Private School Standards

In her article Does common core add up Erin Timmony gave her firsthand experience on
this issue: as the mother of a just-graduated 10th-grader at Parkersburg South High
School, the transition to Common Core standards has not helped, but rather hurt her son,
especially when it comes to math.in which her son had only a Common Core math
workbook for a classroom text. "Private schools, including parochial schools, are electing
to maintain the Traditional Pathway for their students. [...]West Virginia public school
students will be competing with students from other states and the class of private school
students who will continue to have the strength of transcript behind them for national and
institutional scholarships, as well as admissions to private and/or out-of-state academic
institutions."

Education is about moving forward

Common core is a step backwards. It expects from students something it cannot give
them.
Education reform should come from within, not a third party.
Tests do not accurately measure success. Common core is built on increasing testing.
If not all schools are going to use the same system, they cannot be counted as equal.

In my experience

Through my volunteer experience working with children my opinions about common core
have intensified. Kids are not test subjects and by making all public schools adopt common
core that is exactly what is happening. It is created by a party with little to no educational
background. Kids do not do well academically and emotionally with over testing and there
are better ways to measure what they are retaining. Common core is in theory a good thing.
Improvements should be made in education, but this is not the answer that is needed.

Works Cited
Jacobsen, Morgan. "Most Utah Students Aren't Proficient in Key Subjects, New Assessment
Shows." Deseret News 27 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865614027/Most-Utah-students-arent-proficient-inkey-subjects-new-assessment-shows.html?pg=all>.
RYCIK, JAMES A. "Support Continues To Erode For Common Core Standards And
Assessments." American Secondary Education42.3 (2014): 52-54. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Common Core. 2013. By Bob Englehart.
Timony, Erin Does Common Core Add Up? The State Journal 30.28 (July 18, 2014) Pro
Quest Search. Web. 15 November 2014