Common Core Assessments are on the Horizon

Last weekend I presented at California Mathematics Council's annual conference in Palm Springs.  After my presentation I attended several conferences that focused on the 2014 adoption of the Common Core Standards.  For educational leaders who are not familiar with the Common Core Standards I highly recommend that they begin to educate themselves with what they are and how they will be assessed.  What I learned is that these new assessments are being modeled after the successful ways in which students in Singapore are being educated.  Starting in 2014 students will no longer be taking CST's.  Instead students will take performance exams designed to evaluate multiple mathematical (and language arts) measures.  No more fill-in-the-blank.  Students will actually be required to explain their thinking - something American students have not been expected to do on end-of-the year assessments. 

I feel that this type of assessment will alter the way students are currently being taught for the better.  Teachers must learn to prepare lessons which allow students to explore concepts through multiple modalities and hands-on activities.  Students will learn to apply their knowledge and begin to take ownership of their learning as they write about how they get an answer.  This change is causing panic among today's teachers as they face the unknown about assessments.  For the past 15 years many teachers have learned to teach to the test.  This only creates students who are unprepared to compete in a competitive world.  It is well known that the United States' students rank poorly against their counterparts from around the world.  It is time for America's future leaders to be able to compete in a global market.  As 21st century educators we must start preparing our students for this radical change now!