Quote:I'm struggling to find fault with the "new way" in your example.

 

I think a lot of the criticism from teachers come from the inability to slow down or spend extra time on certain areas the kids find interesting because we need to cover all the info before state testing which begins the first week May for my subject (6 weeks before the end of the year.) The pacing guides pace the course with the assumption we teach until the final day of the year without taking into account we need to finish 6 weeks early (not to mention all of the time we lose kids from our classes because they are taking other state tests).

 

Another complaint, from a teacher perspective, is that my students take a multiple choice exam to determine if they have shown growth (and if I keep my job.)  It is hard to measure the argumentation skills and other historical thinking that are the basis for Common Core curriculum when the students are taking a multiple choice test.  It encourages teachers to teach to the test, which everyone, including teachers, would rather avoid.

---