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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Shuttle vision ... Council Corner: In the process of revolution, does Ashland lead or react? ... Ashland church greets Cuba Caravan with potluck Thursday ... Our View: Shuttle vision ... Council Corner: In the process of revolution, does Ashland lead or react? ... Ashland church greets Cuba Caravan with potluck Thursday ... COMMENTARY Chris Honoré: Romancing the Common Core: Part 2 Comment By Chris Honoré DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré Posted Jun. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Chris Honoré Posted Jun. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Our public schools represent the very best of our democratic values and traditions. They manifest our most fundamental belief that an educated populace is essential if our democracy is to work. The challenge has always been how to take what is a remarkably diverse nation and educate its children. Public education is an unprecedented opportunity to prepare each child for the 21st century where change is the only constant. To fail to do so is to break a covenant with our children. We owe them every resource, every effort, including a level playing field, allowing us to say with conviction, “You are ready to be the architect of your own life.” What follows is based on the conviction that the prism through which we are viewing education is distorted and should be fundamentally changed. So let me begin: Teacher evaluation should be peer/mentor-centered, not test-centered. The principal should not be in the loop. School financing is antiquated; the model of tax-based, local control is anachronistic, and our schools are not only separate but unequal. In response to curriculum revamping, the U.S. Department of Education, with the support of state governors, has proffered the Common Core. Unfortunately, an inordinate amount of effort has been devoted to measuring efficacy. Beginning with No Child Left Behind, we have embraced the idea that standardized tests can accurately evaluate a student’s yearly progress. Where education should be teacher/classroom-centered, it is now test-centered, a reality that is so wrong-headed as to defy understanding. Yet here we are, worshipping at the shrine of standardized testing. Consider the following, reported in the New York Times: The new Common Core standards will “emphasize critical thinking, complex problem-solving and writing skills,” and put less emphasis on rote learning and memorization. All to the good. There is, however, the seminal question of how to measure what has been learned. The answer, say some educators, is to craft standardized tests (Oregon uses the Smarter Balanced Assessment, which parents may now opt out of) that emphasize fewer multiple choice questions and more writing on topics such as this one, posed to elementary school students: “Read a passage from a … poem written in the third person, and describe how the poem might change if it were written in the first person.” Remember, this is elementary school. Clearly, embedded in the question is the assumption that the curriculum will have covered the abstract concepts of first person vs. third person point of view in literature and poetry. But there’s more. And this is huge. According to the Times, the essays are not read by the classroom teacher but by employees hired by a testing giant, such as Pearson North America, an outfit paid to read and score hundreds of essays from across the country. Who are the readers? A few examples: a one-time wedding planner, a medical technologist and a marital counselor. No teaching experience is required. The company insists that strict scoring protocols are in place. When it’s pointed out that the aforementioned protocols are closer to those used by restaurants to evaluate their employees, Bob Sanders, vice president of content and scoring management for Pearson, agrees. Like McDonald’s or Starbucks, “you know exactly what you’re going to get," he says. "McDonald’s has a process in place to make sure they put two patties on that Big Mac. We do the exact same thing.” Regarding the essay question, keeping in mind these are elementary students, I would focus on a choice made by a central character and ask what the reader might do differently and why. Crucially, it is the teacher who will read each essay. Not the Big Mac guy. This is the essence of the teaching/learning experience and every written answer should be graded accordingly. There should be no standardized protocol other than that devised by the teacher. This is not the SAT; it’s elementary school. Public schools should be about getting kids excited about the journey they are on, about learning and discovery. There are certainly fine methodologies available. But ultimately, it will always come down to that singular teacher and that one classroom. Utopian, perhaps. But a long way from the dystopia experienced by far too many kids today. Chris Honoré lives in Ashland. By Chris Honoré DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré Posted Jun. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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