Dave Sokola and Darryl Scott are using Mother’s Day weekend to sneak another giant change which will set Delaware education  back into the 18th Century…. An insult to mothers, everywhere.

It is HB 338 sponsored by Sokola and Scott…  It is an attempt to go around the outside of public animosity towards Common Core and cement it’s foundation in concrete….

The best way to explain is to show you what the bill strips away…. and with what it replaces…..

It strips this away…..  in secret, and until now, no one even knowing….

One assessment shall occur within 30 school days of the beginning of the academic year, the second assessment shall occur at a time established by the Department which will allow its results to guide education of students within the current school year. In addition, the Department shall administer end of course assessments in appropriate high school grades….

This is the DCAS plan that is currently working to raise test scores.  This plan was hatched out by teachers, parents, administrators, and  the DOE… All parties were happy with this plan…

In it’s first full year, Delaware scores jumped astronomically.   In its second year, all those not taking Common Core classes rose again.  However those in Common Core classes all did horribly worse, so bad it pulled the states average core downward … last year was not a good year…

Looking at the evidence, those on DCAS do well; those on Common Core really have not idea what’s up.

Here is what is replacing that stricken piece of legislation…..

Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, matriculation and academic promotion requirements imposed by § 153 of this title shall be based upon the student’s best assessment results received on 1 of the multiple assessments referred to in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.

One test, will determine if your child passes or fails…

The law states that “matriculation and academic promotion ” ( which means if your child passes) shall be based on this one test…. 

Now if this one test was the DCAS test that has been taken these past 3 years, that might be ok… But it isn’t.  It will be the Common Core test.

When Kentucky took the Common Core test, 70% failed.  When New York too the Common Core test, 70% failed.  In Delaware, of all those in Common Core classes… 70% failed…   The high failure rate is to be used to bash public schools in order to get more charters into the system; charters which can’t even fill the seats they have now, because they are no good.

This law states that passing this test is required for promotion… Are we truly going to hold 70% of our students back another year?

Yes, based on this law…

Which is why it cannot pass.  Where are we going to put those 70% of students who didn’t pass?

You ask:  what did Kentucky and New York do?   Basically they waivered all those students and passed them anyway, because their grades were good, their other national assessment tests were good, and they obviously knew the material..

They just couldn’t figure out the puzzle that is the test….

Imagine if someone gave you a Rubik’s Cube and said,  “You got 3 hours; if unsolved at that point, you repeat your grade… ”  What is truly amazing, is that since 99% of adults cannot make the cut on even a 3rd Grade test, we are going to call these children failures….

This bill cannot pass, without destroying the entire public education system in the state of Delaware…..

First of all, you should get mad it is being “sneaked” through without debate… especially on Mother’s Day…

Now get busy….