Reform of the Common Core

Sorry, I did mean that the issue was whether the CCSSI system needed to be reformed significantly. It was just a typo. I hope that such a small mistake will not be blown up into a bigger issue than it actually is. Concentrating on petty mistakes should not be the focus of our debate; rather, it should be on whether the Common Core should be" significantly reformed. With that being said, I will respond to my opponent"s arguments, identify some questions I would like him to respond to, and end with my closing argument. CCSSI does not pay attention to the arts My opponent has argued that subjective subjects cannot be universally tested (at least not fairly). Why, then, do we have A.P. tests for composition, historical subjects, and even a drawing exam for A.P. Art. Almost all of these exams have structured essays, and some of them have short response questions that are virtually unconstructed. The A.P. Art exam, in fact, is composed of a portfolio of artwork that students submit by the end of the year. Are these exams unfair? Virtually every competent test for either college acceptance or Advanced Placement classes (excluding some of the math ones) have parts that are quite subjective. I agree that subjectivity allows room for unfair variation in test scores, but it is much more unfair to students to not incorporate essay sections and ignore students" writing skills. I don"t think that testing should determine a school"s funding. Many schools have different styles of teaching, and have different educational goals for their students. As I stated before, students" reading and math scores, regardless of how accurate they are, should not determine a school"s funding. Making a universal system that only values schools specializing in math and reading forces the rest of the schools to take focus away from their other programs. https://apstudent.collegeboard.org... http://apcentral.collegeboard.com... http://apcentral.collegeboard.com... https://apstudent.collegeboard.org... Tests are poorly designed and subject to mechanical problems I have no problem with giving students a grade. I have a problem with the material given on the tests and the tests" structure. A statement of "how many questions they got correct" is often intrinsically problematic. Many educationally relevant questions do not purely have a right answer. The point of an essay section in an A.P. test (or, in the math tests, a written response section to a set of problems) is to allow students to express their answers to a controversial question that requires more than a single filled-in answer on a page. As it stands, there are very few (on most tests, no) essay sections. The tests are subject to mechanical failure. I haven"t dropped that argument. Tests reliant on computers (like the PARCC test) are problematic. Not every school in the U.S. is wealthy enough to have updated computers. I understand that the vast majority of schools are, but not all of them. A universal standard needs to be able to apply to every school. Otherwise, it"s not universal. For mathematics, the free-response questions are not really needed. Geometrical proofs for problems would be nice, though. For reading, I would set free-response questions graded based on argumentative structure, usage of evidence, a valid conclusion, and smooth transitions between paragraphs. The questions would be responses to several prompts. So as not to restrict the student, he/she would be allowed to pick from several prompts per question. Tests incorporate useless questions into them I"m saying that the CCSSI tests are unnecessarily difficult. There is no reason to make problems that needlessly complicated without giving a proper explanation for the problem. Negative influence on curriculum Technically, my opponent is right. A teacher, regardless of whether CCSSI is present, is still in control of his/her curriculum. However, when teachers" salaries are determined by their students" test scores, they will teach to the test. They will angle most of their class time toward teaching their students how to take standardized tests, rather than teaching their students actual math and reading skills. When the Common Core standards deviate enough from the normal, prior curriculum, time is taken from actual core learning. CCSSI does not give improved preparation for STEM subjects My opponent seems to believe that "CCSSI and STEM are a perfect fit." If he truly believes this, I would ask him to respond to the testimony of James Milgram. As I explained last round, James Milgram was one of the mathematicians on the validation committee, and, without a doubt, the most qualified. He realized the faults in CCSSI"s mathematics program, and spoke out about them. My sources for this can be found in my prior arguments. As my opponent stated, the Common Core Standards do influence teachers" curriculums. If the Standards have problems, then it would stand to reason that teachers" classes and the students" learning would suffer. CCSSI increases the number of standardized tests that students take Isn"t the job of a standardized test to, essentially, test "knowledge" of a certain subject? It would seem so. In the very definition of an "achievement test" is the notion that it tests " the knowledge and skills students learned in school." http://edglossary.org... Excess standardized testing is bad for several reasons. It takes time away from teaching (both in terms of preparating for and administering the test), it costs money, and, most importantly, it acts as an unnecessary stressor for students. Teachers and parents are not confident about CCSSI My opponent"s report is from 2013. Then, 3/4s of teachers DID support the Common Core. Now, the approval rating among teachers has dropped to about 40%. Surely, if Common Core has been implemented in more classrooms since then -- and the majority of teachers who actually teach the material support the system -- then the approval rating would go up, not down. http://www.cnsnews.com... http://www.aft.org... Questions for my opponent: My opponent believes that tests with any subjective parts are unfair. Does my opponent believe that A.P. tests, SAT tests, and ACT tests are also unfair? They all have essay sections (excluding a couple of the A.P. tests), and those are very open to interpretation. Does my opponent still believe, despite the rapid drop in teacher approval ratings, that the Common Core is generally accepted as a benefit by teachers? Why? Does my opponent believe that James Milgram"s opinion on the Common Core"s application in STEM fields is incorrect? Why? Would my opponent rather that every k-12 test be completely fact-based and not at all open to interpretation? Closing Argument: The CCSSI system needs reform. It puts too much on multiple-choice tests in reading and mathematics, and is flawed in its purpose. It should not be used to determine schools" funding. Its standards are severely flawed, and it negatively affects teachers" curriculums.