For many schools in New Jersey, the emphasis on aligning curriculum with the Common Core State Standards appears to be linked with the state’s focus on high stakes testing and the politics of accountability.
This is unfortunate, not because testing is inappropriate, but because too often the politics of accountability do harm to the advancement of high standards for academic achievement. When high stakes testing and standard expectations for students are mentioned in the same sentence, we risk losing something important.
Forty-six states have adopted the Common Core State Standards as guiding principles for curriculum development, yet they do not represent a national curriculum. Two testing consortia are working to help states assess progress against the standards, yet the tests are not synonymous with the standards, and preparing students for the tests is not synonymous with “teaching to a test.” The standards present a road map toward critical thinking and analysis that should result in more students exiting high school truly college-ready. This objective—ensuring that all students have strong college and career options—has always been central to our work in Robbinsville, and will remain so as we seek to meet the demands of rigorous standards.
The Common Core standards set expectations for students from Kindergarten through high school graduation. In reading/literature, for example, the standards expect third graders to “ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for answers.” The 12th grade parallel to this standard is the expectation that students be able to “cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.” The centerpiece of this one standard (of more than 40 tied directly to language arts) is to hold students accountable for anchoring opinions and ideas within the context of reliable texts, causing students to develop critical analysis skills throughout their academic careers. This is a vital expectation.
Similarly in mathematics, our youngest students are expected to become fluent with basic facts, number sense and operations so that our oldest students become proficient in algebra, geometry and calculus. The early math standards set explicit expectations for how students manipulate numbers and how facile they become with basic computation and operational thinking so they are prepared as math concepts become increasingly complex.
In both language arts and mathematics, the Common Core standards set a high bar for academic achievement and critical thinking. This is important as we develop learners who must navigate an increasingly complex and connected world.
With an abundance of electronic information available, students must constantly evaluate validity and reliability. Learners must critically analyze opinions and information to ensure they are rooted in reliable text. These skills are essential for college and career readiness, and for an engaged and informed citizenry. In Robbinsville, we are pleased to leverage a good set of standards to help meet this goal.
I started this piece reflecting on the difference between testing and effective standards. Too often the former gets in the way and clouds the importance of the latter. In Robbinsville, we expect our students to score well on state assessments, but we are most concerned that they develop strong thinking and analysis skills so that are ready for the rigors of advanced academic work. In addition, we work hard to keep this goal in balance with meaningful co- and extra-curricular activities so that all aspects of a child are developed in a healthy fashion.
Steve Mayer is superintendent of the Robbinsville school district.
