DCAS is rotten to the (Common) Core.

“I called over another adult in the room. That adult who specializes in math thought the question was just as inappropriate. Sharing the question details would be a violation of the rules, so you won’t be seeing the question here. All I will say is this test is bad. Very bad. And our students and teachers are being judged on it.”

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This folks is too close to home…  these our our kids.  Delawareans….

We have see reports across our country of how bad this test is.  Now we have our first example on the home front.  Here I believe is what is now required.

The test needs to be vetted by General Assembly.  We are being asked to spend one third of our state budget on education.  If we are getting bunk for our $1.3 billion of money given to the state by residents and businesses,  we all have a stake in this too.  A very big stake…

Dave Sokola and  Catherine Cloutier, Bethany A. Hall-Long, Margaret Rose Henry, Ernesto B. Lopez,  Nicole Poore and Bryan Townsend, members of  Delaware’s senate education committee, need to vet the test.

Of course, tests need to be kept secret to cut out cheating. We know that.  However this secrecy appears to be such that no one, except I believe Pearson, the educational company that is in charge of producing, distributing and grading these tests, knows both the questions and the answers…..

What if Pearson is wrong?  Someone has to vet the test.

It would be a good piece of publicity as well as serve parent’s peace of mind, if the entire Senate Educational Committee in a public session, were given the 5th grade test as if they too were in elementary school, and then, and only then, would we be able to discuss whether or not it is more appropriate  for a New York firm trying to manage its bottom line, or a teacher who knows every student personally, to make up the questions and grade the test…..

Perhaps we could raise the stakes at little by putting some accountability into this exercise and say… oh btw,… if the legislators didn’t pass the 5th Grade test, and weren’t deemed “smarter than a 5th Grader”,  they’d be tossed off the committee…… and publicly embarrassed….

If the House wishes to compete with the Senate on this issue,  here are their names as well ….

Chairman:  Darryl M. Scott
Vice-Chairman: Kimberly Williams
Members: Michael A. Barbieri
Donald A. Blakey
Stephanie T. Bolden
Timothy D. Dukes
Debra J. Heffernan
Earl G. Jaques Jr
Harvey R. Kenton
John A. Kowalko Jr.
Joseph E. Miro
Edward S. Osienski
Charles Potter Jr.
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman