What I Love and Don't Love about the New Standards

If you want to know what I love about the Common Core State Standards, you don't have to look any further than this. The new standards really do encourage a depth of understanding that had been missing in the past. I love the way these students are encouraged to explain their thinking and collaborate with their peers. The CCSS really are encouraging a higher standard for teaching and learning.

What is it that I don't love about these new standards? It's the over the top stress on standardized tests. Test scores are dropping with the new standards. Kids are stressed out. Teachers and schools may be judged unfairly.

I do support testing and accountability. And even I would agree that these new tests call for much more in the way of higher order thinking skills. But even the best tests have their quirks. I wish that policy makes would join the call for a testing moratorium to give us the time to work out the kinks in these new tests.