"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Sunday, January 26, 2014

The never-ending common core boondoggle

Sent to USA Today, January 25, 2014.

I was happy to read that "Some states get cold feet as Common Core testing draws near," (Jan. 24). As Theodor Rebarber noted, estimates of costs should include technology. All common core tests must be delivered online, on up-to-date computers, which many schools do not have. This will cost billions, and we can be sure that as soon as the system is functioning, most of the technology will be obsolete, which means a never-ending boondoggle for computer and testing companies at taxpayers' expense.

If the brave new tests fail to produce improvement, "experts" will blame teachers and call for even more testing, requiring newer (and even more expensive) technology.

Stephen Krashen

Original article at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/24/stateline-common-core-testing/4817739/

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