Common Core Standards
- Thread starter abcd1234
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irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Yes. It tells me it's a new system and just like everyone else, your teacher is used to the old method.sentosa said:
But then again, you never know, after a few years, we could find out it was a total failure and all of you can revel in how right you were.
And to clarify, I'm not saying you shouldn't be complaining, like I said, I probably will too, all I'm trying to do is take a more optimistic look at this system because the overall goal of it seems to be for the better.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
If your kids are smart, and you stay involved, no system can make them dumb.sentosa said:
Cream rises to the top.
(I am full of idioms today)
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
But that's has always been an issue, even before Common Core.abcd1234 said:
There are a number of times where my kids have homework that they didn't cover in class and I'm the one teaching them the fundamentals of how to solve it. My only problem is my method of solving may be different than what theirs is supposed to be (which is why I'm glad that the homework is on tear-out sheets that are part of the teaching material so I can reference it).
Again, this sounds like an issue with the teacher that you might want to talk to them about.
I'm frustrated not because my son did not pass the test, but because potentially he might be wasting a couple of years on some BS during his math class in school. I'm not saying he is a genius, but he is interested in math and gets excited when learning new concepts and moves forward. When things are repetitive, when the topic gets massaged for an extended periods of time he looses interest and the excitement of going to math at all. He is taking Algebra and Geometry as an extra curriculum on Sundays so he can continue to be excited to learn. If he fails the test in the summer we would continue with our Sunday math school regardless of his school curriculum.
abcd1234 said:
This test is a complete scam, in my opinion. It's just so that IUSD can say "see, we still offer advanced math even though we switched to Common Core (which LOWERS previous math standards by about a full grade)". But they made it so hard on purpose that no kids can pass it, ensuring that all kids next year a held back A WHOLE YEAR IN MATH. They have effectively held back all your kids this year. Congrats! An entire generation of kids held back a year. This is a complete disaster.
Even the documents describing this test admit that those who fail the test will be forced into "8th grade Common Core math"
Those who pass it get to take "7th grade algebra". Whaa?
$2.5B in CA taxpayer money wasted to LOWER our standards to Common Core, folks. It's lunacy and few in Irvine (or anywhere in California) realize what has happened right beneath their noses.
Home school or private school (that doesn't have Common Core) is the way to go. Or move to Texas. Their standards are now much HIGHER than even California or Massachusetts.
Irvinecommuter said:
Completely wrong. Do you have friends in IUSD administration?
The standards are LOWERED compared to what we used to have (by a whole grade in math). However, the Common Core test questions are now more convoluted and open to interpretation. The actual math content of the tests isn't harder (it is easier).
California or IUSD could have made our own standards and tests more focused on "critical thinking" if that is really what was needed. Yet, this option was thrown out in favor of political motivations in 2010 paving the way for lowered standards with Common Core.
Irvinecommuter
New member
We had this discussion a million times...you can believe the standards are "lower" but they're not. Every teacher I have spoken to on the matter have expressed relief about how the standards have increased because of the implementation of common core and allowed them to have more freedom in challenging/instructing their children rather than stick to some antiquated standards created years earlier.
Change is hard...doesn't mean it's bad.
Change is hard...doesn't mean it's bad.
Irvinecommuter
New member
IrvineRes said:
I don't know you or your children but the issue with common core/test is that children were learning to focus on the answer and not on how you get there. Go to any college class and you will see that the solution gets your 25-50% of the credit. For higher level math, process is just more important as the solution because it's about application, not necessarily result.
Why don't you post some questions from the test and see if how all of us do?
Irvinecommuter
New member
abcd1234 said:
I am sure that there were sample problems that your child got to practice. The fact that your child "failed" doesn't mean that he is not smart...it's a different way/method to think about things. Rather than blaming the test or IUSD, why don't you find out why your kid "failed" and work through the problem with him. It can be a great learning experience and expose your kid to a new way of thinking about an old problem
It's like when phonetics were introduced into teaching...it made no sense to those who didn't learn the language through phonetic but it is a better way to teach kids how to read and recognize sounds.
It's interesting that people in the US don't understand that the education system in the US is actually very good and unique. Most Asian countries emphasis repetition and memorization. That makes very impressive tests and demonstrations but not very good when the kids go to college, they are robots and incapable of creative thought.
Common core puts emphasis on looking at the problem and figuring how to solve the problem. In real life...there are often no "right" answers...just different approaches on how to get to a result. In fact, the result/answer is often already known...the difficult part is how to get there and how to do so more efficiently.
For all the attacks on the American education system, the US still have the best colleges and most of the innovative thinkers. It's not a surprise that people from outside of the US send their kids to the US for higher learning.
Irvinecommuter said:
repetition and memorization are indeed very important in elementary math. without that, any thinking skill or problem solving skill is just some imaginary high riser building on the sand.
i noticed whenever i went buy some grocery or fast food, let's say it cost $16.39. and i gave $20 bill at first. and then i found out that i have some change to use. so i gave the cashier another $1.39 expecting him just to give me $5 to make things easier. unfortunately most of the time, the cashier got so confused and can't figure out how much they should give back to me and i have tell them the answer.
this is basic elementary math and you will never have this problem in any asian country. here in our country without the machine/computer, people's brain just go dead because they just can't do math. and with this CC, now i am expecting to see every cashier use an ipad to sketch some graphs or draw some circles in order to figure out how much they owe me.