John King appointed to Secretary of Education a Common Core<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The Common Core State Standards were adopted by many states due to Race to the Top Grants that were awarded in 2010. \u00a0 2016 marked a shift in how people felt about the Common Core Standards, how they were adopted and how states were coerced into adopting them to be eligible for grants. \u00a0 The push-back against Common Core became a theme for elections. \u00a0 \u00a0 The ESSA adopted in 2015 expressly forbids\u00a0incentives for\u00a0the adoption of federal standards. \u00a0 President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to abolish common core, though this is misleading as the standards were adopted by states by their own choice. \u00a0 Many states have\u00a0removed common core standards, changed the name, or completely replaced with their own state standards. \u00a0 \u00a0This map<\/a> shows the adoption\/retention of Common Core by state, though the future of these standards seems uncertain.<\/p>\n Attached to common core and education bills were items that required teacher evaluations to be attached to standardized test scores. \u00a0States were free to choose the test they would use, but those test grades would be used to not just evaluate students, but to also evaluate teachers and schools. \u00a0 \u00a0Illinois has bounced through many tests, \u00a0such as the PSAE, ACT, PARCC, and now the SAT. \u00a0 \u00a0Like Common Core, high stakes testing has encountered push-back from parents and teachers about the overall fairness of the tests and whether the tests can actually measure what they say they will measure. \u00a0There is currently a national movement to eliminate or reduce high-stakes testing and unpair it from teacher evaluations. \u00a0 The problem being that teachers have no control over environmental factors and test scores are closely correlated with socio-economic status.<\/p>\n For more information on the movement to reduce high-stakes testing, visit Fairtest.org<\/a> .<\/p>\n Presidential Election and Appointments<\/strong><\/p>\n Donald Trump was elected the president in 2016 and appointed a new secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. \u00a0 Ms. DeVos has never worked in a public school system and has never sent her children to public schools. \u00a0She is a very vocal proponent of vouchers and what is now being called “School Choice.” \u00a0 \u00a0Be wary, school choice isn’t what it seems. \u00a0 Private schools get to choose their students, but public schools take everyone. \u00a0 Vouchers and charter choices funnel money from public schools. \u00a0 The schools claim to have better test scores, which they may have, but so could a public school if we could remove any child who is underperforming, has behavior issues, or has special needs. \u00a0 \u00a0 If you want to know more about Betsy DeVos and how she plans to dismantle public education and privatize schools, this article<\/a> gives an excellent overview of her philosophy. \u00a0 Also on this site is a scathing overview of how “School Choice<\/a>” is just a way to segregate schools and take power away from a locally elected school board.<\/p>\n The new year could mean big changes to education as Trump has already suggested there would be big changes with his\u00a0School Choice And Education Opportunity Act (SCAEOA) though the details have not been released. \u00a0 Though Betsy DeVos’ voucher plans may be curtailed by the fact that very little federal education dollars goes to local schools, she does have Title 1 funds available to play with. \u00a0 Worst case scenario could see Title 1 funds stripped from \u00a0schools and turned over as cash vouchers to families willing to apply for them and send their kids to a private school. \u00a0 There is not enough Title 1 money to provide every family with a voucher at this point. \u00a0 \u00a0It will be very important to stay informed and contact your representatives about changes and policies that are likely to harm students.<\/p>\n As always, be vigilant, be organized, and of course, behave!<\/p>\n Follow these folks on twitter:<\/p>\n U.S. News Education<\/a><\/p>\n Badass Teachers Association<\/a>\u00a0(BATs)<\/p>\n American Federation of Teachers<\/a>\u00a0(AFT)<\/p>\n National Education Association<\/a> (NEA)<\/p>\n![\"common](\"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-content\/images\/common-core-every-student-succeeds-act-254x300.png\")
nd continued the so-called reform efforts of the Every Student Succeeds Act<\/a> (the replacement for \u00a0NCLB.) \u00a0For the most part, John King’s policy’s were no different than Arne Duncan and mirrored the test and punish philosophy of the NCLB. \u00a0 \u00a0One good thing did come out of the ESSA as much of the power was returned back to the states after many states and high-profile individuals criticized Common Core and NCLB.<\/p>\n![\"fair](\"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-content\/images\/whats-wrong-w-standardized-tests-infographic-232x300.jpg\")
<\/a>High Stakes Testing<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat Do We Do Now?<\/h2>\n
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