Rothman, Chapter 1

MISSING PIECES (pg 21-28)
Rothman discusses the fact Standards-Based Instruction has seemly failed in many states.  Perhaps, as he mentions, this is due to the fact that we made assumptions Rigorous Standards would "cure" our illness in education.  YET, we did not take into consideration that it would require "Knowledge and Resources" in order to help teachers and provide them support to implement the Rigorous Standards.  Ding...Dong...Ding...Dong... In 1999 a report by the National Research Council noted that "standards-based policies can affect student learning ONLY if they are tied directly to efforts to build the capacity of teachers and administrators to improve instruction."  Hello!  Thank you very much!!!

The problem with states attempting to provide "local control" is that unless local schools made concerted efforts to draw clear pathways, they designed standards and curriculum that were too vague and didn't provide sufficient guidance to the teachers.  As a result, many schools with many students did not receive the adequate education they deserved.

I think Dana Senechal sums up the issue very nicely:
"When teachers know what they are supposed to teach, they can put their energy into planning and conducting lessons and correcting student work.  If teachers have to figure out what to teach, then there are many moving pieces at once and too much planning on the fly.  Also, there is too much temptation to adjust the actual subject matter to the students, if they don't take to the lesson immediately, the teacher may get in the habit of scrambling for something they do like, instead of showing them how to persevere.  With a common curriculum, the teacher has the authority to expect students to learn the material." (pg. 25)

Textbooks are all too often the curriculum.  Yet textbooks are typically a long list of "facts, names, dates, topics, and concepts" rather than a well constructed course of study to lead students for learning.  It requires a lot of teacher training in order to acquire the skills needed to develop a viable curriculum that is not created on a single textbook.  Studies have proven that there are missing pieces in the current standards-based instruction model.  Those missing pieces include: clear standards, strong curriculum, and professional learning.

What makes Common Core Standards any different?
1.  The standards are coherent statements of what students need to know and be able to do by grade level. The standards are built with a logical learning progression over time.
2.  Federal funding has been granted in order to build assessments to measure the Standards. The assessments are being build by a number of key professionals and will have new formats such as performance tasks.  They will encourage teachers to address a broader range of abilities than the current traditional tests.
3.  The standards are common across states.  Better training... Better coherent materials for all... Instead of companies building for one or two large states, the materials will be cohesively written for all.

However, in order for CC to be successful... Several factors in mind here.
1.  Fidelity of implementation by all.
2.  Quality of assessments given by all.
3.  Preparation of teachers to implement with rigor and fidelity by all!

Are we ready?
If not, now is the time to be getting ready!

Your thoughts?

Sarah