Argumentative Essay On Common Core
Genary Gomez Mr. Scheiner
English Period #4 11/21/13
Argumentative Essay on Common Core
“Without Common Core we (America) are not where we want or need to be.” The New York Times reported this in August, 2013. Currently, every state sets its own curriculum for its schools. The result is that the United States ranks “25th in math, 17th in science, and 14th in reading compared to students in 27 industrialized countries.” Without national standards, students depend upon the luck of where they were born or schooled to get a comprehensive education that will prepare them for life. If the United States is one of the wealthiest nations of the world, why are we doing so poorly in education? The Common Core curriculum is a potential solution to this complicated problem.
According to the New York Daily News, New York City students are doing poorly in both English and Math. And the numbers get worse as time progresses and Common Core is implemented: from a high of 81.8% in English and a 68.8% in Math (2009, before Common Core), to a low of 29.6% in Math and 26.4% in English (2013).
These scores show that students did worse once Common Core curriculum was implemented. The New York State Department of Education sets the curriculum for all the schools in the state. Teachers prepare their lessons according to this curriculum. Do the test scores mean that New York State standards were too low before Common Core or that teachers were poorly trained in teaching the Common Core curriculum? Is the Common Core curriculum a good enough one to prepare students for success in life? If it is, we better start training our teachers better.
Some will argue that teachers aren’t being trained enough in the new Common Core curriculum because their students are doing poorly. This ties teacher performance to student achievement. So, in order to be rated
English Period #4 11/21/13
Argumentative Essay on Common Core
“Without Common Core we (America) are not where we want or need to be.” The New York Times reported this in August, 2013. Currently, every state sets its own curriculum for its schools. The result is that the United States ranks “25th in math, 17th in science, and 14th in reading compared to students in 27 industrialized countries.” Without national standards, students depend upon the luck of where they were born or schooled to get a comprehensive education that will prepare them for life. If the United States is one of the wealthiest nations of the world, why are we doing so poorly in education? The Common Core curriculum is a potential solution to this complicated problem.
According to the New York Daily News, New York City students are doing poorly in both English and Math. And the numbers get worse as time progresses and Common Core is implemented: from a high of 81.8% in English and a 68.8% in Math (2009, before Common Core), to a low of 29.6% in Math and 26.4% in English (2013).
These scores show that students did worse once Common Core curriculum was implemented. The New York State Department of Education sets the curriculum for all the schools in the state. Teachers prepare their lessons according to this curriculum. Do the test scores mean that New York State standards were too low before Common Core or that teachers were poorly trained in teaching the Common Core curriculum? Is the Common Core curriculum a good enough one to prepare students for success in life? If it is, we better start training our teachers better.
Some will argue that teachers aren’t being trained enough in the new Common Core curriculum because their students are doing poorly. This ties teacher performance to student achievement. So, in order to be rated