Gates Foundation Urges Moratorium on Decisions Tied to Common Core (NYTimes - June 10, 2014) New York State Education News EXCERPT: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the country’s largest donors to educational causes and a strong backer of the academic guidelines known as the Common Core, has called for a two-year moratorium on states or school districts making any high-stakes decisions based on tests aligned with the new standards. The Common Core, originally adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia and supported by the Obama administration, was devised by a group of educators and experts convened by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Over the past three years, teachers have scrambled to adapt classroom curriculums to the new guidelines — reading and math standards for pupils from kindergarten to high school. Some states, including Kentucky and New York, have already rolled out new standardized tests aligned with the standards, while many other states tried out tests this spring. Teachers’ unions and parent groups have expressed frustration at the speed with which the new standards and tests have been put in place, particularly at a time when states are also instituting new performance evaluations for teachers that tether ratings in part to student test scores. Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina have repealed the Common Core standards altogether. In an open letter, Vicki Phillips, the director of education for the Gates Foundation, wrote that “the best new ideas aren’t self-fulfilling; they have to be put into practice wisely.” She added: “No evaluation system will work unless teachers believe it is fair and reliable, and it’s very hard to be fair in a time of transition. The standards need time to work. Teachers need time to develop lessons, receive more training, get used to the new tests and offer their feedback.” Policy decisions about moratoriums would have to come from state legislatures or education departments. Chris Minnich, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, said that a blanket delay was not appropriate. “Every state should be thoughtful about how to evaluate teachers and look at a timeline that is best for the students in their state,” Mr. Minnich said.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 12:37:24 +0000
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