Tulsa Schools and New Standardized Testing & Common Core

[Gaspar]

Great read from Jenks Middle School Principal Rob Miller.
http://viewfromtheedge.net/?p=2534

Basically State School Superintendent Dr. Barresi has purposely excluded Jenks and Owasso schools from field tests for the new state testing vendor because they were vocal in opposing the new common core standards, and she wanted to avoid possible negative press from the parents in those schools (because we can be quite loud).

This obviously didn't go unnoticed.

On another note. . .
This year was the final straw for my wife and I.  It was a difficult decision 5 years ago to choose public school over private options, and now that my daughter is going into 5th grade next year, this semester will be the last time she sets foot in a public school. 

She is a brilliant little girl with excellent math and communication skills.  Mostly because my wife, who is a licensed educator, taught her how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide long before the school presented her with that curriculum.  This year she began to bring home the Common Core worksheets which, in themselves, are a marvel of stupidity.  Not only are the processes they are learning to do simple math confusing, but many of the worksheets contain mistakes in syntax and blatant mathematical errors.  We confronted her teachers, only to learn that they have very little grasp, or ability to explain the system beyond what the answer keys to the worksheets tell them.  If my daughter simply answers a question using common math, or does the work for larger numbers using mathematical equations that have proven accurate and acceptable for thousands of years, she is penalized.

Common core requires her to draw a series of pictures, fact families, cube sticks and number bonds to arrive at an answer.  It frustrates her, and makes us angry.  Math homework that would take her 10 minutes now requires an 8yo girl 30mins to an hour to complete and lots of frustration along the way.  The kids are not the only victims.  The teachers hate it, because it represents another layer of unnecessary certification that in no way benefits the children.

So, last week we made the rather painful and expensive decision to remove our children from the public school system this year.  The cogs that the public school system seems determined to turn out with the new Common Core standards don't fit any machines, and our kids are worth more than that. The good news is that several of her classmates will also be transitioning out of the public system and we are hopeful that she gets some familiar faces in her new school.

[Conan71]

I have not followed the common core issue closely since my kids are past it.  From what I hear of it though, I'm glad this happened after my girls were already out of school.  We had them in Montessori until the older one was in 5th and the younger one in 2nd.  They transitioned to Jenks quite well and both got exceptional grades and had great instructors there.  Jenks prepared both well for college.  

I'm sorry to hear JPS was apparently forced down this road.  I ignored most of the rage against Barresi as it seemed to come from Tim Gilpin initially and I felt it was more sour grapes than anything.  It would appear I was wrong.  

[RecycleMichael]

You gotta do what is best for your children.

We were lucky to get our kids into the TPS magnet schools. They are the very best around here. Better than any private school in the Tulsa area.

5th Grade is a pretty important year. Good luck.

[heironymouspasparagus]

I started trying to get in with the schools back when the kids were small - provide tutoring, etc. in some of the STEM topics.  I naively thought that since Tulsa Junior College would hire me as a part time instructor, that should be good reference to help some junior and high school kids with some math and physics....  

Not good enough.  Since I didn't have the union card (teacher's certificate) the state - Oklahoma state - would not allow it.  Several times over a couple of decades.

Now I understand the madness behind the method - the more recent decades have shown the real agenda.  Get lotteries to pay some of the school bill, so hundreds of millions can be freed up for their pork projects.  And when push comes to shove, just cut a couple hundred million directly.  The people in the state won't protest it...they have been conditioned.  And when it is explained to them, and the people involved, and the adverse impact it has had, I can't even count the number of times I have heard this quote;

"w e l l ,  a h h   ( I )   d o n ' t   k n o w   a b o u t   t h a t ,  . . . . .  h e  (or she)  s e e m s   l i k e   a   p u r t y   g o o d   o l e '   b o y   t a   m e . . . . .


The spacing indicates the "Okie slow" way of   t a w k i n ' . . . . .  and one of the more recent people I have had this discussion with - You know who you are!!  (We talked about it...)

In fairness, while I work hard to talk faster and use a more 'midwestern' accent, but I have my lapses and talk exactly like that....

[sgrizzle]

[sgrizzle]

Not only are the processes they are learning to do simple math confusing, but many of the worksheets contain mistakes in syntax and blatant mathematical errors.  We confronted her teachers, only to learn that they have very little grasp, or ability to explain the system beyond what the answer keys to the worksheets tell them.  If my daughter simply answers a question using common math, or does the work for larger numbers using mathematical equations that have proven accurate and acceptable for thousands of years, she is penalized.

Common core requires her to draw a series of pictures, fact families, cube sticks and number bonds to arrive at an answer.  It frustrates her, and makes us angry.  Math homework that would take her 10 minutes now requires an 8yo girl 30mins to an hour to complete and lots of frustration along the way. 

This could be said for Math class for me 25-30 years ago. Math classes have never been about the answer, they have been about the method.

[Cats Cats Cats]

OMG!!  Your kid got counted off for not following instructions.  Oh lawd. Too bad the teachers don't get it.  Sounds like they could have used some common core in school.  You know..  So they could grasp things besides just memorizing things.

[swake]

Great read from Jenks Middle School Principal Rob Miller.
http://viewfromtheedge.net/?p=2534

Basically State School Superintendent Dr. Barresi has purposely excluded Jenks and Owasso schools from field tests for the new state testing vendor because they were vocal in opposing the new common core standards, and she wanted to avoid possible negative press from the parents in those schools (because we can be quite loud).

This obviously didn't go unnoticed.

On another note. . .
This year was the final straw for my wife and I.  It was a difficult decision 5 years ago to choose public school over private options, and now that my daughter is going into 5th grade next year, this semester will be the last time she sets foot in a public school. 

She is a brilliant little girl with excellent math and communication skills.  Mostly because my wife, who is a licensed educator, taught her how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide long before the school presented her with that curriculum.  This year she began to bring home the Common Core worksheets which, in themselves, are a marvel of stupidity.  Not only are the processes they are learning to do simple math confusing, but many of the worksheets contain mistakes in syntax and blatant mathematical errors.  We confronted her teachers, only to learn that they have very little grasp, or ability to explain the system beyond what the answer keys to the worksheets tell them.  If my daughter simply answers a question using common math, or does the work for larger numbers using mathematical equations that have proven accurate and acceptable for thousands of years, she is penalized.

Common core requires her to draw a series of pictures, fact families, cube sticks and number bonds to arrive at an answer.  It frustrates her, and makes us angry.  Math homework that would take her 10 minutes now requires an 8yo girl 30mins to an hour to complete and lots of frustration along the way.  The kids are not the only victims.  The teachers hate it, because it represents another layer of unnecessary certification that in no way benefits the children.

So, last week we made the rather painful and expensive decision to remove our children from the public school system this year.  The cogs that the public school system seems determined to turn out with the new Common Core standards don't fit any machines, and our kids are worth more than that. The good news is that several of her classmates will also be transitioning out of the public system and we are hopeful that she gets some familiar faces in her new school.

Gasp, my kids are a bit older than yours so maybe I am not seeing it, but is Barresi mandating curriculum via Common Core? I haven't seen that. I'm not all defending her, she's a complete train wreck and I know Jenks is very upset over taking more and more school time and resources for endless and often pointless testing but what you are describing sounds more like Every Day Math, which is the math curriculum that Jenks uses.

Not everyone loves it, but it does seem effective. Jenks by design is pushing higher and higher math into younger grades and they do it with Everyday Math. My kids went through it and have done well. My daughter is a senior and she took AP Calculus BC last year as a junior and this year is taking Calculus III and Differential Equations, in high school. Almost no school anywhere offers that.

Rob Miller, who's blog you linked, is my son's principal and I think he does a great job. He is very focused on getting kids into higher and higher math. My son is in 7th grade and is already taking Geometry, his track will have him take AP Calc as a Sophomore and take Linear Algebra as a senior. Jenks is having to develop a math class beyond Linear Algebra because there is a group of students my son's age a year ahead of him, kids that will take AP Calc as Freshmen.

I will criticize Jenks schools for a number of issues, but math curriculum is not one of them. Show me a private school that has 3 years of math beyond AP Calc BC. A ton of them don't even offer that, they only offer AP Calc AB.

[TheArtist]

 I wonder if I could have graduated in todays High Schools.  Do they have different tracks for people with an artistic bent?  I was terrible at math and computers and it was hell just getting through the basics in those subjects.  It would be like forcing every kid to paint like Michelangelo before they are allowed to graduate and if they couldn't pass art tests they would be labeled "slow" and given remedial courses, forced to take summer school, held back, start feeling bad about themselves as adults wondered "what was wrong with this child" and told the child they were not trying hard enough, etc. etc.  

I think we are missing out on a huge economic opportunity when we say that "this math standard is a must" and if your not good at it but happen to be good at art, your still a failure.  

Art is everywhere and the opportunity to make good money at it is everywhere and we ignore that.

Just about every package was designed by an artist.  That was a job that someone got paid to do.  The pictures hanging on your wall are only the beginning. The furniture in your house was likely designed by an artist. The fabric on your sofa or chair, perhaps even the one your sitting on now. The lamp that's sitting on the furniture, the book cover designs of the books on your shelves, magazines, advertisements, the clock on your desk, the light fixtures in your home, your cars design from the taillights to the steering wheel, the clothes your wearing, your shoes, the glasses on  your face, etc. etc. etc.  Art and the opportunity to make money at it are eeeeeverywhere.

There are so many jobs to be had and so much money to be made by being an artist.  And many of us could no more do trig than you could paint the Sistine Chapel.

Peoples brains are wired differently. I hate it when I see kids with so much artistic talent, beaten down and not appreciated by the school systems and many end up dropping out because their talents simply aren't appreciated while those with math skills are the be all end all.  I have done art projects that have earned me close to half a million dollars a pop.  And I am a mediocre artist. One of the artists that used to be in Tulsa likely made millions per year and his company was the one that sent me to London just a while back to do the project there.

If every other school district in the country is focusing on churning out kids that can do math, I think that might present itself as an opportunity to the school or city that focused on skilled artists instead.  They would be the ones in high demand and able to write their own tickets, because they would be rarer than everyone else following the math herd.

[swake]

I wonder if I could have graduated in todays High Schools.  Do they have different tracks for people with an artistic bent?  I was terrible at math and computers and it was hell just getting through the basics in those subjects.  It would be like forcing every kid to paint like Michelangelo before they are allowed to graduate and if they couldn't pass art tests they would be labeled "slow" and given remedial courses, forced to take summer school, held back, start feeling bad about themselves as adults wondered "what was wrong with this child" and told the child they were not trying hard enough, etc. etc.  

I think we are missing out on a huge economic opportunity when we say that "this math standard is a must" and if your not good at it but happen to be good at art, your still a failure.  

Art is everywhere and the opportunity to make good money at it is everywhere and we ignore that.

Just about every package was designed by an artist.  That was a job that someone got paid to do.  The pictures hanging on your wall are only the beginning. The furniture in your house was likely designed by an artist. The fabric on your sofa or chair, perhaps even the one your sitting on now. The lamp that's sitting on the furniture, the book cover designs of the books on your shelves, magazines, advertisements, the clock on your desk, the light fixtures in your home, your cars design from the taillights to the steering wheel, the clothes your wearing, your shoes, the glasses on  your face, etc. etc. etc.  Art and the opportunity to make money at it are eeeeeverywhere.

There are so many jobs to be had and so much money to be made by being an artist.  And many of us could no more do trig than you could paint the Sistine Chapel.

Peoples brains are wired differently. I hate it when I see kids with so much artistic talent, beaten down and not appreciated by the school systems and many end up dropping out because their talents simply aren't appreciated while those with math skills are the be all end all.  I have done art projects that have earned me close to half a million dollars a pop.  And I am a mediocre artist. One of the artists that used to be in Tulsa likely made millions per year and his company was the one that sent me to London just a while back to do the project there.

If every other school district in the country is focusing on churning out kids that can do math, I think that might present itself as an opportunity to the school or city that focused on skilled artists instead.  They would be the ones in high demand and able to write their own tickets, because they would be rarer than everyone else following the math herd.

I don't believe that at all. Why does being a great artist mean you can't do math. That makes no sense. Not everyone can do theoretical math or a be a physicist but everyone can do advanced math to a certain level at least. Even if you don't use it later in life it teaches your brain valuable analytical and decision making skills.

I think we just do a poor job in this country of setting expectations and teaching. I expect that at some point when math wasn't easy for you, you were told you weren't good at math so you gave up and it was then hard forever. Happens to girls all the time and it's awful. Tell me, the part of the brain that is important to math is spatial ability. Is spatial ability important to art? The same part of the brain that makes you good at art should make you good at math.

When my daughter was five or six she was tested for being gifted. The results said that she was very gifted in the language arts but not so much in spatial ability (math). So we lied to her and told her that her gift was in math. She was gifted enough in language arts that that was always going to happen for her, but in telling her it was math she dived into and today is very gifted in math, her math SAT scores were actually higher than her verbal.

Jenks doesn't force the track my kids are on, it's certainly not for everyone, but they do accelerate. Most of the world teaches higher math much younger than we do. The national standard is that kids take Algebra I in 9th grade, Geometry in 10th and Algebra II in 11th grade. That's simply a joke. Jenks moves that up a year for everyone. Lots of schools do this. Jenks just then picks out kids that do well and moves them even faster. There are I think about 850 7th grade students at Jenks Middle School. Of those I think there are only 5 or 6 in Algebra II, maybe 20 in Geometry with my son. I don't know how many are in Algebra I, but it's going to be a lot, probably over 100, but far from all the kids.

[Red Arrow]

Not everyone can do theoretical math or a be a physicist but everyone can do advanced math to a certain level at least. Even if you don't use it later in life it teaches your brain valuable analytical and decision making skills.

I agree whole heartedly.  I certainly do NOT remember all the Geometry proofs I did in High School but the thought process has served me well. Before parametric solid modeling CAD (we use Solid Edge at work. Similar to Solid Works but by a different company), I used Trig and a HP Calculator (I really like RPN and can barely use a TI calculator.) on a regular basis. I still do but the software does the tedious part.

Art classes were part of the curriculum through 8th grade where I grew up.  I never did all that well but it was kind of fun.  The one project I remember is making a paper mache action human figure.  We didn't have to get down to finger details but it had to stand on a small wood base without falling over.  I made a running person.  That was the only "A" I remember ever getting in art.  Beyond that, I cannot draw a straight line without a drafting triangle. I was destined to be an engineer from day one.  (Although being an engineer and artist are not mutually exclusive.  Industrial designer/engineer is a good example of that.)

[heironymouspasparagus]

I wonder if I could have graduated in todays High Schools.  Do they have different tracks for people with an artistic bent?  I was terrible at math and computers and it was hell just getting through the basics in those subjects.  It would be like forcing every kid to paint like Michelangelo before they are allowed to graduate and if they couldn't pass art tests they would be labeled "slow" and given remedial courses, forced to take summer school, held back, start feeling bad about themselves as adults wondered "what was wrong with this child" and told the child they were not trying hard enough, etc. etc.  

I think we are missing out on a huge economic opportunity when we say that "this math standard is a must" and if your not good at it but happen to be good at art, your still a failure.  

Art is everywhere and the opportunity to make good money at it is everywhere and we ignore that.

Just about every package was designed by an artist.  That was a job that someone got paid to do.  The pictures hanging on your wall are only the beginning. The furniture in your house was likely designed by an artist. The fabric on your sofa or chair, perhaps even the one your sitting on now. The lamp that's sitting on the furniture, the book cover designs of the books on your shelves, magazines, advertisements, the clock on your desk, the light fixtures in your home, your cars design from the taillights to the steering wheel, the clothes your wearing, your shoes, the glasses on  your face, etc. etc. etc.  Art and the opportunity to make money at it are eeeeeverywhere.

There are so many jobs to be had and so much money to be made by being an artist.  And many of us could no more do trig than you could paint the Sistine Chapel.

Peoples brains are wired differently. I hate it when I see kids with so much artistic talent, beaten down and not appreciated by the school systems and many end up dropping out because their talents simply aren't appreciated while those with math skills are the be all end all.  I have done art projects that have earned me close to half a million dollars a pop.  And I am a mediocre artist. One of the artists that used to be in Tulsa likely made millions per year and his company was the one that sent me to London just a while back to do the project there.

If every other school district in the country is focusing on churning out kids that can do math, I think that might present itself as an opportunity to the school or city that focused on skilled artists instead.  They would be the ones in high demand and able to write their own tickets, because they would be rarer than everyone else following the math herd.

Some are lucky and have it both ways....good friend for decades was excellent engineer, and an amazing artist!  He has recently started painting (photo realistic acrylic western art - as good or better than Charles Russell and/or Frederick Remington) full time to make a living.  Still in "starving artist" mode for now.... luckily he had a job that had a real pension.  Darn those pesky companies with pensions that still care about their employees!  They give the rest of them such a 'bad name'....

[Townsend]

Q&A: A Crash Course On Common Core

http://kwgs.com/post/qa-crash-course-common-core

Confused about the Common Core State Standards? Join the club. That's not to say the new benchmarks in reading and math are good or bad, working smoothly or kicking up sparks as the wheels come off. It is simply an acknowledgement that, when the vast majority of U.S. states adopt a single set of educational standards all at roughly the same time, a little confusion is inevitable.

Below is a handy FAQ about Common Core. We'll continue answering your questions in the coming months. You can post them in the comments section, or on Twitter and Facebook using #commonq.

What are the Common Core State Standards?

With the Core, it's best to begin at the beginning. They are benchmarks in English language arts and math that clarify the skills each child should have at each grade level. From the Common Core's own website: "The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live." If you have a few hours you're looking to fill, you can tuck into the standards one by one.

The standards have been adopted in 45 states and the District of Columbia. One good way to understand what they are is to know what they're replacing. States control their learning standards, and Common Core doesn't change that. But before the Core, state standards varied widely across the country and, in many cases, were weak and outdated. The Core standards are widely considered an upgrade.

The other problem the standards are meant to address is student mobility. Kids move around a lot. The 2000 census found that 18 percent of kids had moved in the last year. And, when they moved from school to school or state to state, many found themselves struggling to cope with very different standards.

Opponents of the Common Core argue that the standards tell teachers what texts they should teach. Do they?

Not really. The only required reading from Common Core comes in the 11th and 12th grades, when kids will be expected to read and understand foundational documents of historical and literary significance: the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and Lincoln's second inaugural address.

Much of the confusion comes from the Core's Appendix B. It includes dozens of titles that the Core's writers consider "text exemplars" — in other words, suggestions for teachers looking for age-appropriate reading material that will help their students reach Core benchmarks. They include everything from Green Eggs and Ham to Shakespeare's Sonnet 73. But these texts are recommended, not required. The standards also call for a balance of informational texts and literature but, again, do not require specific books or reading materials.

Will the Core come with new standardized tests?

Yes. The states that have adopted the Core have divided into two consortia, and each will soon field-test new, Common-Core-aligned assessments. Beginning next week, some 4 million students (in grades three to 11) will take these new tests in math and language arts for the first time. This early testing will help test makers figure out what test items truly gauge "proficiency" (or grade-level skills) and what the cutoff scores should be. These tests are expected to be tougher for many of the children who take them. New York, an early adopter of the Core, has already administered Core-aligned tests and seen significant drops in student scores.

How do teachers unions feel about the Common Core?

That's tricky. Both the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers support the standards, but their rank-and-file are uncomfortable and increasingly unhappy with the standards' implementation. Seven out of 10 teachers say the transition to a curriculum tied to Common Core isn't working. Two-thirds of teachers say they were not asked for input on how to develop the implementation plan. Teachers also say they need time to make sure they understand the standards and are able to talk to parents about them. In the meantime, the unions are calling for a delay not in implementation of the new standards but in holding teachers accountable for test results. In California, Gov. Jerry Brown has already said teachers there won't be judged this year on student performance as the state transitions from old standards to new.

[guido911]

We were lucky to get our kids into the TPS magnet schools. They are the very best around here. Better than any private school in the Tulsa area.

cough

[Kallima]

As a pseudo-surrogate parent to my 4 nieces and 1 nephew, I am completely disappointed in common core and the public school system. Granted, I live in Tulsa and they attend Edmond Public Schools, but if this is what schools are churning out these days, we're doing nothing but setting them up for failure.

The problem I have with common core and how it's being applied is that it doesn't build a firm foundation. It's too caught up in "solving" a question using a variety of methods and in the end, not one of them is truly retained/learned/mastered. Until they have a grasp of basics, what purpose does it serve to add additional steps? They no longer "carry over" when multiplying, they group them into easier sets. They no longer "borrow" numbers when subtracting either. Their teachers don't even like to use those terms anymore for goodness sake. I do take the time to communicate with their teachers and occasionally have to "learn the new way" myself because they can get penalized for doing it the "old way," but again, unless the basics are mastered there's little use in Susie being able to solve a problem 3 different ways if she can barely remember only one of them.

What's scary for me, is the knowledge that 4 of the 5 all have straight A's but still have issues converting fractions to decimals and vice versa. It's terrifying when I proofread an AP English paper to see the words "like" and "you know" used, neither of which was in an acceptable form, such as a simile or part of a quote. It's very telling when I sit down with the 8th grade English teacher and she informs me that her entire class failed the test on pronouns so I shouldn't worry about my niece as they are re-taking the test as a class.

Common core in theory is acceptable, in application it's a veritable nightmare, for the teachers, students, and parents.