I am FAR (very far) from being an expert when it comes to the educational system, however, luckily enough, I have had the chance to experience it. I was extremely fortunate in two ways. Number 1) I received my education BEFORE the Common Core State Standards were implemented (2014-2015) and number 2) I had the chance to go to a Waldorf School. However, like almost every kid in this generation, I did have to go through the awfully pain-staking duty of taking standardized tests.
Simply put, I do not comprehend the Common Core State Standards.
While yes, I do understand that this will, supposedly, prepare high school graduating students better for the 'real' world and university, have the education curriculum be comparable to international standards, equalize the playing field and promote "higher- level" thinking skills, and I quote:
"Students will no longer simply be allowed to come up with the right answer. Often times they must give an answer, state how they arrived at that conclusion, and defend it."
Now, don't get me wrong, I do support some these goals (to varying degrees). What I do not understand however, is how this will be accomplished through standardized testing.
Standardized testing will only exacerbate stress levels of everyone involved in the education system. There will be even more pressure on students to perform well, which will in turn reflect on the teacher, and furthermore the school. From my experience, it will not help a student how to solve a problem, learn how to think, but will only test the capacity of the students' ability to take the standardized test. One of the things that worries me the most was that the Common Core was mostly developed by
"academics and assessment experts—many with ties to testing companies." Another was reading that the curriculum was structured from the top grades to the bottom ones. This means the whole system is based on the wanted outcome of the student after Pre-K- Grade 12 and everything below was adjusted accordingly. While initially this may seem logical, that's just not the way, as a species, we operate.
We are humans, we grow, we move, we learn, we think, we evolve--- in vastly different ways. We aim for our goals in a forward trajectory, wherever and whatever they are meant to be.
WE ARE NOT MEANT TO BE STANDARDIZED
An example of common core math that completely baffles me:
http://teaching.about.com/od/assess/f/What-Are-Some-Pros-And-Cons-Of-The-Common-Core-Standards.htm
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/27_04/edit274.shtml
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2014/10/23/the-science-of-the-common-core-experts-weigh-in-on-its-developmental-appropriateness/#7cdb056a77cc
