Dear DeSales Family,
Throughout much of last and this year, we have all heard a great deal of noise about CCLS (Common Core Learning Standards) and the New York State Assessments and what they are "subjecting" our student to. As some of you may know I have spent a good deal of my professional career looking at the impact that high stakes assessments have on students, faculty and administrators and thought a little insight here may be helpful before we get into the testing season.
Within the past 10 years, there has been greater reporting of the expected quality and rigor of education that students are receiving presented to society. Today’s school students are expected to pass yearly tests in math and English in order to demonstrate a continuing improvement in student achievement. What has not been prescribed is how these improvements will happen, what exactly “improvement” means, or what the factors are that determine this progress. There is no account made for the existence, or lack thereof, of local capacity, in the form of financial, material, and human resources. Yet, we are expected to foster school-based improvement through a myriad of programs to help meet performance criteria established under CCLS and NYS assessments.
The tests leave too many students behind because of their attempt at standardization of learning do not take into account daily concerns that influence the lives of our children; family, athletics, dance, bullying, etc. I firmly believe that we do need to challenge our students to constantly push their mental envelope and it is through rigorous curriculum matched with well-written assessments that we can accomplish this.
However, that is not to say that we remove the goofy from education. I have fond memories of singing and dancing with my former students to help them learn. Good education is done by feel and reading your students and change daily, it is not, for the most part, prescribed and rote, but lived. In short, there needs to be a happy medium between what is seen as the expectation under CCLS and what is used to help our children achieve greater heights than we previously thought possible.
Finally, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently wrote that, under Canon Law, it is our duty "to be both academically excellent in every way and deeply infused with and focused on encounter with the person of Jesus Christ and fostering a life of virtue." Moreover, they state:
The claim of opponents that CCLS are less rigorous is simply mistaken.
Compared to most previous state standards, CCLS require more higher level
thinking, both analysis and synthesis; more problem solving; more careful
argument tied closely to textual evidence; more reading, writing, speaking, and
listening; and deeper understanding of mathematical concepts to support problem
solving in new situation. These are skills all children need . . .
In short, while the CCLS and NYS assessments have been seen rather dismal press, they represent a solid foundation that we can build from; providing opportunities for students and educators to grow from if followed in their pure, intended form. It is only when they are corrupted from their intended educational views and taught in prescribed manners that we see the ratcheting up of everyone’s stress level.
I hope that helps.
Peace,
Scott
