Not Much Real Change To The Standards In Those Cuomo Common Core Task Force Recommendations

The union leaders are shouting "Hosanna!" over the recommendations that Cuomo's Common Core Review Task Force released yesterday, but I'm less impressed by the whole thing.

Here's how Kate Taylor of the NY Times wrote this up:

A task force Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo created is calling for changes in what New York State students learn and how they are assessed, in a set of recommendations released on Thursday.

The task force, which Mr. Cuomo convened in response to the concerns of parents and teachers, is also calling for the state not to use its test scores to evaluate teachers through the 2018-19 school year, to allow time to develop the new standards and tests.

The report is the latest step in the state’s retreat from the Common Core school standards, national benchmarks that New York adopted in 2010, and especially from using student test scores in teacher evaluations. It comes in the wake of a rebellion by parents against testing; one-fifth of students did not sit for the state exams this year, a fourfold increase from the previous year.

But is it a "retreat"?

It is unclear how different the new standards will be from the Common Core. The task force’s report calls for enlisting educators and parents to help create them, and it recommends modifying the standards for kindergarten, first grade and second grade so that they are more age-appropriate. But it says little about the standards in the upper grades, in which students take state tests, and it says that, generally, the new standards should “maintain the key instructional shifts set forth in the Common Core.”

Gee, that doesn't sound like real change to me?

That sounds like the Common Core State Standards will get some minor tweaks and stay in place.

Sounded that way to one of the Common Core shills too:

“The report makes clear that the current standards and assessments will stay in place,” said Stephen Sigmund, the executive director of High Achievement New York, a coalition of groups that promote the standards.

So long as the math and ELA Regents exams stay as they are, there will be no practical change from what's being taught in schools.

Since the Regents tests are Common Core-aligned and schools are being held accountable for the results (and can be put into state receivership if they're really low), you can bet that not much will shift in math and ELA classes in high schools when it comes to teaching the Common Core standards.

In short, the Endless Testing regime and Endless Test Prep tied to Common Core will remain alive and well so long as what gets tested is Common Core- or Common Core-Lite.

The same will be true for the tested grades in elementary and middle schools if the tests remain Common Core-aligned and are used to rate schools.

I'm also told that the "local" assessment scores will remain as part of APPR, which, if true, means "junk science" VAM is alive and well in teacher evaluations, even before the "moratorium" that the task force called for having on using state test scores in APPR expires and junk science VAM using state test scores returns to APPR.

So, what real change did we really get yesterday in these recommendation?

The UFT and NYSUT can declare victory all they want with these recommendations.

What I see here is one big PR event made to look like a lot more is going to go on then really will go on.

Cuomo's Common Core/APPR Dog And Pony Show

I read through Keshia Clukey's Politico NY post on the Common Core task force recommendations that are set to be issued to Governor Cuomo this week and the sense I was left with is, they're going to tweak the standards just enough to claim they're not Common Core anymore, they're going to look to change the name to something else (something like "New York State Standards," though I'm partial to "Cuomo Core" myself) and they're going to declare "Mission Accomplished!"

In short, it looks like we're in for another Cuomo dog and pony show special, not that this comes as a surprise.

Many of us thought this CCSS review was nothing more than Cuomo and the powers-that-be in Albany trying to stage manage the politics and optics around the Common Core and the Opt Out protests.

We knew they want to change as little as possible other than the perceptions around the policies.

NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia indicated that when she said she wanted to "repaint" the Common Core so that parents would like it better.

Dunno how stupid they think people are, but I would be very, very surprised if the parents and teachers who are part of the Common Core and Opt Out protests fall for this charade they've got coming.

APPR will get a tweak too - they'll probably shove through some temporary "moratorium" to "de-couple" test scores from teacher ratings for a set period of time, which means test scores will eventually be placed back into the APPR formula.

Again, I would be very, very surprised if many people are fooled that a moratorium is substantive change, as by definition, a "moratorium" is nothing more than a "delay."

As far as I can tell, Elia's paint job on the Common Core is a bit of scenery for Cuomo's Common Core/APPR Dog and Pony Show that's set to open to previews this month and get a starring role in Cuomo's State of the State/budget address in January.

Thoughts?

Expect No Meaningful Change Out Of Cuomo's Sham Common Core Task Force

The ever perceptive Fred LeBrun in the Times Union:

The governor says he wants a complete reboot of Common Core, and wants to hear what all the stakeholders have to say through his diverse commission. Then he wants to lay out a new plan in January when the Legislature comes to town. Effectively that means the commission — which incidentally has no member from the "Opt Out" movement representing 20 percent of the state's students and their parents — must grapple with a complicated set of issues with diverse viewpoints and come up over the next several weeks with a consensus that satisfies all sides. An impossible task.

So we will most likely get what we got before, a bad joke masquerading as a thoughtful policy change.

Todd Hathaway, a teacher at East Aurora High School, was a member of the governor's first Common Core panel, and saw with horror how Albany really works. He was a dissenter from the commission's report advocating the garbage we got and found out they didn't really care what he thought. The governor's office, he said, "repeatedly ignored my concerns ... about inappropriate state testing, the misuse of invalid tests for (teacher) evaluations and the lack of transparency in state testing."

...

Our transactional governor, who long ago listened appreciatively to his hedge fund friends on promoting charter schools, for-profit education, devaluing teachers and advocating Common Core and high-stakes testing, is mostly looking for a political solution here, not an educational one. He wants to find a way to appease an angry, rebellious public while changing as little as he can of the atrocious education policy he dictated to the Legislature earlier this year.

...

The governor has made the Regents and the State Education Department scapegoats for his failed policies, blaming them for the hurried rollout of still unformed Common Core in this state. Lest we forget, it was the governor who insisted on getting there first among states, ready or not. Nor can we forget his continued vilification of teachers for a very long time.

Blaming teachers has been nothing but a prolonged, unfair distraction from what remains a prime challenge in New York public education — closing the achievement gap for minorities, for poorer school districts in inner cities and deep rural areas.

The disparity in graduation rates hasn't budged. It's time we got back to that, with a much better plan.

The difference between this "review" Cuomo has put together and the two past education panels/commissions is that we've got a road map on how this all works - Cuomo's office writes the report and hands it off for the members to sign and/or indicates how the report should be written to their shills on the commission.

This is what happened with the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption, this is what happened with the LIPA commission after Sandy, this is what happened with the two previous education commissions/panels.

So few will be fooled by this sham task force or the report it hands off to Cuomo for his January State of the State speech because we've seen this show before.

The key will be to point out to people over and over how much of a sham the Cuomo review was and to make him pay a political price for putting on the dog and pony show.

He wants a political solution to an education problem to come out of this process.

What he's going to get is an even bigger political problem when parents and educators see that the "reboot" was nothing other than a "rename" of the same education reform agenda and policies.

Cuomo's Common Core Island

A Perdido Street School blog reader wrote the following song which is ever so applicable to Governor Cuomo's Common Core review:

I wrote us a theme song.
Just sing along to the theme of Gilligan's Island:

Cuomo’s Isle

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful trip,
that started from this Common port,
aboard a leaky ship.
Bill Gates was a mighty money man,
The Skipper brave and sure,
reformers set sail that day,
for a ten year tour,
a ten year tour.

Well, the parents started getting rough,
the leaky ship was tossed.
If not for the money from of the clueless crew
the Standards will be lost.
The Standards will be lost.

The ship's aground on the shore of this
untested testing isle
with Andy,
the Skipper too.
The billionaire and his ego,
the DC star,
Coleman and a shaky plan,
here on Cuomo’s Isle.

Here’s the tale of clueless castaways,
they're stuck for a long, long time.
They'll have to make the best of things,
it's an uphill climb.
Bill Gates and his Skipper too
will do their very best,
to bash teachers, kids, and their schools
with their tricky tests.
Just a coffin waiting for the one last nail
like Ford’s Edsel car,
it's bound to be an epic fail.

So join us here each spring my friends,
no reason left to smile,
with all these clueless castaways
here on Cuomo’s Isle!

Announcing A Contest To Rename Common Core Standards In New York

In a radio interview today, Regents Chancellor Tisch signaled that the state's Common Core review won't change much about Common Core other than the name:

1 outcome of a Common Core review? Rebrand Tisch says: "We can call them the Empire State standards or the New York State higher standards."

— Chalkbeat New York (@ChalkbeatNY) September 15, 2015

Who’s got a new name for #CommonCore? NY considers a rebranding http://t.co/WJQS5Ta0W2 pic.twitter.com/eoLTVWutWn

— Joseph Spector (@GannettAlbany) September 15, 2015

 Tisch's call for a new name for Common Core in New York generated this fine idea:

.@GannettAlbany .@KeshiaClukey Maybe they'll have a contest & the district with the best name idea gets all the funding it is owed

— Sharon (@SharonSloomis) September 15, 2015

A contest to rename Common Core in New York?

Why not!

Here's my entry:

@GarySternNY Cuomo Core.

— rbe (@perdidostschool) September 15, 2015

If you have any ideas for the Common Core rebrand, leave them in the comments.

But remember:

Rename, rebrand, reboot: Whatever Tisch terms the "new" NY standards, they're still Common Core http://t.co/6JErrpvDKR

— rbe (@perdidostschool) September 15, 2015

Merryl Tisch Says Common Core Review Will Rebrand CCSS To Something Like "Empire State Standards"

As many have been saying since Governor Cuomo announced a Common Core review that would look at the standards, the testing and the curriculum, the review appears to be a smoke and mirrors deception to simply keep going with the state's education reform agenda.

Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch acknowledged as much today on Capital Pressroom:

1 outcome of a Common Core review? Rebrand Tisch says: "We can call them the Empire State standards or the New York State higher standards."

— Chalkbeat New York (@ChalkbeatNY) September 15, 2015

This echoes something NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said earlier this year when she said she wanted to "repaint" the Common Core standards so parents would like them more.

Repaint, rebrand review - it's seemingly all jive when it comes to real change for education policiy in New York State.
 
Here's another "concession" from the state Tisch announced today:

Chancellor Tisch says the Regents wants to implement a panel where teachers can appeal their rating. http://t.co/GhtSxLoFFv @sarbetter

— Capitol Pressroom (@CapPressRoom) September 15, 2015

Tisch says "One of the reasons we are putting in place this appeals process is to address aberrations."

— Capitol Pressroom (@CapPressRoom) September 15, 2015

Aberrations?

The whole system is an aberration:

@CapPressRoom The entire system is an aberration. How else to explain 14/20 to 1/20 to 11/20 on test score VAM?

— rbe (@perdidostschool) September 15, 2015

See here for how you can go from 14 out of 20 to 1 out of 20 to 11 out of 20 in three years with similar test score results.

It's the APPR teacher evaluation VAM lottery - place your bets, winners get to keep their jobs, losers lose theirs.

Clearly the Lederman APPR case has the state worried, as does stories about school districts wity "excellent" schools who scored poorly on APPR ratings, which is why Tisch is announcing the APPR appeals panel.

But if the appeals panel is anything like the NYCDOE appeals process, it will be rigged for the kind of outcomes the establishment wants - that is, ineffective ratings for most teacher who file appeals that stand as they are (even the UFT acknowledges very few negative ratings are overturned.)

So Tisch is making some news here by not really making any news.

Nonetheless that Tisch is talking this stuff on the radio lets you know that the powers that be in Albany are worried that their education reform house of cards is at risk of being torn down by the barbarians at the gates (i.e., parents and teachers) and they're trying - really trying - to fool us into thinking their addressing our concerns.

They're not, of course:

@ChalkbeatNY if it walks like a duck & quacks like a duck.....we need more than a NAME CHANGE

— Mike Reilly (@MikeWReilly) September 15, 2015

Indeed we do need more than a name change of the standards, some minor tweaks to the testing regime and an appeals panel that will be rigged for outcome announced as if it has any real effect.

But that's what we're getting from Cuomo, Tisch, Elia, et al.

Repaint, rebrand, review - it's all the same jive.

Farleigh Dickinson Poll Finds Only 17% Of Americans Support Common Core

The support trajectory for Common Core drops dramatically:

As millions of students across the country prepare to take the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) exam or the Smarter Balanced Assessment, the most recent national survey from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind finds that the educational reform behind these standardized tests remains a mystery to many Americans and faces widespread disapproval.

 Currently, 40 percent of Americans say they disapprove of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), often referred to as just the “Common Core,” with 42 percent who are unsure and 17 percent who favor the standards. The goal of the Core is to establish national standards for learning so that all students, regardless of where they live, leave high school with the skills necessary to enter college or the labor force.

Reformers will use this as pushback:

The survey finds that most Americans say that they don’t know very much about the Common Core standards, and they seem to be right: misconceptions about the content of the standards are widespread – almost half of Americans (44%) think that sex education are part of them – and are strongly connected with opposition to them.

...


A lack of information is evident from misconceptions about what topics are included in the standards. In the survey, Americans were also asked if four specific topics – sexual education, global warming, evolution, and the American Revolution – are included in the Common Core. In reality, none of these are part of the Common Core standards, which only include topics in math and reading. Still, two-thirds of Americans say that at least one of these is in the standards, with 37 percent saying that three or four of them are.

But who's at fault for the "lack of information" around Common Core?

Deformers thought they could shove through dramatic eduction reform without the public being clued in - new standards, new tests, teacher evaluations tied to those tests, all in some way connected to the stimulus package, Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind waivers - so if there are widespread misconceptions around the Common Core, well, then next time don't shove all this stuff through at once without public discussion and buy-in beforehand.

Elites think they know best but one thing they don't seem to know anything about is how the rest of us respond when shit gets shoved down our throats.

Quite frankly, I don't care if the Core is killed for the right reasons or the wrong reasons anymore.

I just want to see the Core killed.

And with so many people against Common Core, so few in favor and Common Core proponents seemingly unable to persuade the "Don't Know Enough" categories despite all the money they throw into their propaganda, I'd have to say the Common Core is going to die an early death.

Alas, like so many of the zombie lies that pervade education reform (schools are in crisis, teachers are lazy, merit pay works), the Core may re-emerge later on with a new name and new branding.

New York Republicans Create "Stop Common Core" Ballot Line

From Liz Benjamin at State of Politics:

According to a Facebook post last night by GOP consultant Vince Casale, there’s an effort underway to create a statewide “StopCommonCore” ballot line for the November elections.

To create an independent line, state law requires the collection of a minimum of 15,000 signatures on an official designating petition.

“Once created, you will have the opportunity to vote for candidates who have expressed their opposition to Common Core and will fight to end these untested and unfair standards put on our children,” Casale wrote.

“Voting on the ‘StopCommonCore’ line will also send a strong message to Albany that the parents and taxpayers of New York want action NOW!”

Casale directed interested parties to a website that has more details about this effort, as well as a downloadable petition.

Though the main objective here is ostensibly to elect candidates who have pledged to support repeal of the Common Core if they’re successful at the ballot box, it just so happens that all the candidates in question are Republicans.

Back in May, state GOP Executive Director Jason Weingartner sent a memo to the party’s 62 county chairs informing them of a plan to develop a second ballot line for the statewide slate.

At the time, one county chair told the NY Post the line would most likely be education-based and have something to do with the Common Core, in hopes of harnessing some of the grassroots anger the curriculum has caused.

This is essentially a Republican ballot line, so not only will these candidates be anti-Common Core, they'll most likely be anti-traditional public schools/pro-charter school and anti-union.

In short, just like Democrats like Barack Obama and Andrew M. Cuomo.

If you're looking to protest Common Core and you're a supporter of traditional public schools and unions, better to vote Zephyr Teachout in the Democratic Primary and Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate, in the general election.

Still, I'm happy to publicize anti-Common Core efforts from any part of the political spectrum.

The larger the protests and opposition to the Core grow, the sooner we can stick a stake through the heart of the Common Core and bury it in the crossroads of four different corners of the state.

Cuomo's Common Core Panel May Skip Writing A Final Report

When Governor Cuomo first announced his Common Core panel, many of us thought it was a jive move to make it look like he was doing something about all the parent and educator complaints about Common Core and the state's education reform agenda while really doing nothing at all about them

This news seems to confirm just that:

ALBANY—I.B.M. executive Stanley Litow, who chaired Governor Andrew Cuomo's panel on Common Core implementation, said Wednesday he hasn't met with the other panel members since releasing the preliminary report in March, and isn't sure whether the panel will issue a final report.

“We issued a preliminary report, and I think we're going to talk to the State Education Department and the governor about further work,” he said after a conference about early-college high schools.

Litow said “there might be” a final report, and he's “had a lot of contact” with other group members, “but we haven't had a formal meeting.”

Teacher Todd Hathaway already exposed the shamery around the panel when he reported that panel heads were not interested in any dissenting views from what they had already decided would be in the preliminary report:

Todd Hathaway, a teacher at East Aora High School and a member of the Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Common Core panel, ripped the process today after the panel released its report last night.

The recommendations include what Cuomo wanted: holding students harmless for the tougher exams, but not a three-year moratorium on using the tests to evaluate teachers.

 ...

Hathaway said, “The report – and the process that produced it—is incomplete. the report was released suddenly, even as final comments were still being solicited. I had indicated the likelihood I would dissent and not allow the report to be spun as ‘consensus.’” Nevertheless, the report was issued with my name attached. I am very concerned that the report tries to make it seem like all the discussion had been completed.”

Here’s the rest of his statement:

“In fact, the Executive Office repeatedly ignored my concerns and the legitimate concerns of others about inappropriate state testing, the misuse of invalid tests for evaluations and the lack of transparency in state testing. The result is that some of the report’s conclusions and suggestions do not hold up to scrutiny. I wouldn’t accept this kind of work from my students and I don’t accept it here.”

“The failure to address testing and evaluation issues in a comprehensive way suggests the dynamics of the classroom will not change. The report seems to blame everybody else for the problems of the Common Core learning standards without adequately addressing the appropriateness of some of the standards and the testing that goes with it. This report should have addressed serious deficiencies in state testing. It should have discussed the lack of transparency in tests; the lack of diagnostic and prescriptive worth to teachers; the unacceptable delays in returning scores to school districts and the insanity of pretending there is validity to teacher ratings that are derived from student scores widely acknowledged to be invalid.”

“Finally, this panel should have recognized the need to pause in the use of assessments for high-stakes decisions for students and teachers. This would have allowed the State Education Department, as well as school districts, to refine the tests and testing materials; teachers to engage in the standards and develop a variety of lessons to meet them instead of just relying on modules; parents to understand the role and utility of data in education; and for teachers to receive the necessary professional development. Implementing massive curriculum changes do not just happen overnight. They take time. I fully support a delay in the use of tests in high-stakes decisions for students and teachers, but that issue was never fully explored. You can’t put students first if you put their teachers last.”

Litow's stating that the panel hasn't done any work since the preliminary report was issued and pretty much doesn't plan to do any more just reinforces what Todd Hathaway exposed back in March:

The Common Core panel was a sham, a jive move to make it look like Cuomo was addressing concerns over the Common Core, testing, evaluations and the like when he had no intention to do so at all.

Opt Out Movement Grows In NY State

No wonder education reformers like Merryl Tisch and StudentsFirstNY were so shrill in their criticism of Westchester County Executive/GOP gubernatorial's announcement that he and his wife were opting their children out of the state's Common Core ELA and math tests that begin today.

Astorino and his wife are just two out of thousands of parents across New York who are opting their children out of the state tests this.

Here is how Carol Burris described the burgeoning opt-out movement in today's Washington Post:

Even before the tests begin, “Opt Out” is catching fire across the state. Stacey Sturdy has been lobbying her legislators to change the course of testing and reform. She created a grassroots group in her small district of Worchester in rural Otsego County. On the Sunday prior to testing, 25 percent of 3-8 students’ parents had decided to opt out in her district. Stacey said, “My husband and I decided early on that our children would be refusing the test, as a last ditch effort to show our governor and Commissioner King that parents are the ultimate voice for public education. We will not stand by and watch our beautiful rural school be corrupted by indoctrinating, age-inappropriate curriculum; then set up for failure just so a charter school can take its place.” Stacey has also decided to run for the school board to continue to make a difference.

On suburban Long Island, the home of the 16,000-member group known as Long Island Opt Out, founder Jeanette Deutermann struggled the day before the testing began to keep up with the reported numbers of students opting out. Some districts were reporting numbers well in excess of one-third of all potential test takers, with more letters continuing to arrive in school offices. By the end of Monday, with 65 of the 122 Long Island districts reporting through volunteers, Jeanette was aware of more than 8,850 opt-out requests in those 65 districts. More requests are expected to arrive on Tuesday and it is likely that this year, as last year, test takers will also pull out of tests once they begin.

The NY State legislature did little to address parent concerns in the budget agreement that was passed last night and will be signed by Governor Cuomo today.

And so, as one parent puts it in the Burris piece, opponents of the state education reform agenda are doing what they can do to fight back:

 It has become clear that in New York state, the “canary in the coal mine” of the Common Core reforms, parents are sending a clear message by opting out. In the words of Seaford, N.Y parent, Heather Umhafer: “This is a democracy. However the democratic process was left out when it came to the Common Core. We are fighting back. It’s the only way and we do it by ‘choosing to refuse’ and ‘remember in November.’”

We're seeing straw man attacks against Astorino for opting his kids out of the tests, with Regents Chancellor Tisch claiming Astorino is against all education standards.

Those straw man attacks aren't just aimed at him, of course - they're aimed at all parents who dare to stand up for local control of education, for a parent's right to have a say in what goes on in their taxpayer-funded schools.

The shriller the attacks against parents who opt their children out of the state tests or criticize the Common Core agenda are, the more you know the opposition to the NYSED/Regents/Cuomo reform agenda is scaring the education reform establishment.

This opt-out movement positively terrifies them.

They know as soon as other parents see that there is nothing the state can do to parents and children who opt out of the state tests, the opt-out movement will spread like wildfire.

Eac year over the past few years, the movement has grown.

This year looks to be the biggest year yet.

And with Cuomo and the state legislature doubling down on CCSS reform in the budget, the movement against Endless Testing is going to grow and grow.

Chancellor Tisch Attacks Rob Astorino For Opting His Children Out Of State Tests

Yesterday the Cuomo Campaign sent State Senator George Latimer out to attack Westchester County Executive and GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino for announcing that he and his wife were joining with thousands of other parents around the state and opting their children out of the Common Core state tests starting today.

Today the Daily News reports that Regents Chancellor Tisch launched an attack against Astorino as well:

Astorino's pronouncement pulled immediate criticism from state Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, who told the Daily News in an email, "If you are against standards, you are contributing to our decline."

As is usual with education deformers, Tisch sets up a straw man argument here, equating Astorino's opposition to the Common Core State (sic) Standards with opposition to ALL standards, which is most definitely not what Astorino said in the video.

Watch for yourself:





Astorino very clearly states that we don't need lower standards in our schools, we need higher standards.

Astorino also clearly states that "many experts now agree that Cuomo's Common Core may actually lower standards for our school children over time" and points to the problems with "Common Core math for our younger children," which "wasn't developed properly."

He then tells a story of his children having trouble with their Common Core math homework and he and his wife having trouble helping them because "Common Core math methods left us all scratching our heads."

These criticisms of Common Core are widespread across the country - just google "Common Core" and "math" and see what comes up.

Chancellor Tisch may think creating a straw man argument for the Astorino opt out problem (Astorino doesn't want standards in schools) and knocking it down (he's contributing to the decline of this country with his opposition to the Common Core) will be an effective way to defuse it.

She is wrong.

Her dishonest and deceitful method of pushback will do nothing but fan the flames of the opposition against the Common Core, the Common Core tests, and the rest of the NYSED/Regents/Cuomo reform agenda.

This has been a problem with deformers since the beginning of the CCSS pushback.

Rather than honestly deal with the criticism of the CCSS, they have created straw man arguments about the opposition or tried to marginalize critics as wackos and crazies.

But as we can see from the burgeoning opt out movement, the growing opposition to the Common Core, and the anger aimed at the education reform movement, that deformer pushback strategy is failing miserably.

The deformer attacks against the opposition are getting shriller and shriller and it speaks to the desperation they're feeling over the impending demise of the education reform agenda they worked so hard to shove down the throats of America.

Cuomo Has Crony Attack Astorino Over Common Core Opt Out Video

Earlier today I posted video of Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announcing he and his wife had decided to opt their children out of the Common Core tests that start tomorrow.

According to State of Politics, the Cuomo Campaign didn't wait long to launch a counterattack:

Sen. George Latimer, a Westchester County Democrat, has been deployed to respond to County Executive/GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino’s announcement this morning that he and his wife have decided to have his kids opt out of the upcoming Common Core exams to protest the controversial curriculum.

In a statement, Latimer, who is the ranking minority member on the Senate Education Committee, accused Astorino of sinking to a “new low” by “using his children as political props to make points that are pure fiction.”

Latimer went on to mock Astorino for claiming that the Common Core standards were created by Bill Gates, calling the charge "absurd".

Apparently Latimer is not familiar with how much money Gates has put into developing the CCSS and promoting them - he should check out Mercedes Schneider here to educate himself about that.

In any case, Liz Benjamin at State of Politics responded to Latimer's charge that Astorino was using his kids as "political props" thusly:

Astorino has been hammering on the Common Core for some time, calling it yet another unfunded mandate handed down to local governments (in this case, the school districts) by the state. He has also said he would eradicate it completely if he’s elected governor in November.

The slam on Astorino for using his kids as “political props” seems unfair. It’s not as if he’s the first elected official to highlight family members to make a point during a political campaign. Actually, it’s a time-honored tradition to involve one’s children and spouse to demonstrate familial ties to the voters. In this case, the Astorinos are joining many other New York parents in opting their kids out of what they consider onerous and unfair testing.

Nice bit of context from Benjamin at State of Politics on the burgeoning opt-out movement.

If anyone is being absurd here, it's Latimer for claiming Gates had nothing to do with the CCSS development and Astorino is using his kids as political props.

See, unlike Andrew Cuomo (or NYSED Commissioner King), Astorino sends his kids to public schools - they have to live with the Common Core mess.

Unlike Cuomo's kids, King's kids, Gates' kids, Arne Duncan's kids, Barack Obama's kids...

Rob Astorino Says His Own Kids Will Opt Out Of "Cuomo Common Core Exams"

Budget Update - NO Changes To APPR Teacher Evaluations

This afternoon I wondered if Shelly Silver had caved to Governor Cuomo on the charter school issues yet.

I also wondered if there would be any changes to either the Common Core implementation or Cuom's APPR teacher evaluation system. 

Daily Politics reports the following:

Gov. Cuomo and state lawmakers are zeroing in on a deal that would set aside $300 million for a full-day prekindergarten in New York City, the Daily News has learned.

Sources close to the talks say additional money would also be given to the city that can be used for after-school programs,  though it woulnd't be specifically earmarked for that purpose.

All told, the sources said, the emerging budget deal would likely provide a total package close to what Mayor de Blasio has been seeking--though without the increase in the city income tax the mayor had been seeking to fund the expansion.

But, as with anything in the flow of budget talks, the sources warn no deal is set until the final budget is agreed upon.

...

The emerging budget deal will also set aside additional money for full-day pre-K programs outside the city. But, sources said, that money will have more flexibility so districts can also use it to beef up full-day kindergarten programs.

In addition, it’s expected that an education bond act that will go before voters will set aside money for pre-kindergarten classroom construction as well as additional space so the city can close down the trailers that house some classes.

Legislative leaders reported progress on the budget talks. Sources said a deal to delay the impact of the Common Core testing on students--but not the teacher evaluation process--for two years has been agreed to.

One source said the major outstanding issues involve charter schools, an anti-corruption package, campaign finance reform and the DREAM Act.

Cuomo held fast to the teacher evaluation law - as was expected.

Looks like no changes to APPR and teachers will be evaluated  with the Common Core "assessments" despite the contention by Cuomo and Company that the CCSS tests are not ready for prime time evaluation for children.

But so far, if Daily Politics is to be believed, Shelly hasn't given Cuomo his charter school protections yet.

Teacher On Cuomo Common Core Panel: No Discussion Or Dissent Was Allowed

A tweet last night from the teacher on the Cuomo Common Core panel:

I will issue a further statement tomorrow on the sham of @NYGovCuomo CCLS implementation panel. No dissent allowed, no discussion allowed!
— Todd Hathaway (@toddjhathaway) March 11, 2014

That's Cuomo-style democracy in action.

No dissent, no discussion.

Findings decided beforehand.

Sign it or else.

As I noted when the Cuomo Common Core panel was first announced, the panel was loaded with CCSS supporters/education reformers and the fix was undoubtedly in.

It will be interesting to see what Todd Hathaway has to say in detail about his experience on the panel.

Cuomo Common Core Panel Suggests Increased Professional Development & Training For Members Of The Board Of Regents And NYSED

Cuomo's Common Core panel said increased professional development and training is needed for both the Regents and the functionaries at NYSED since they've managed to screw up so much of their reform agenda, both the development of that agenda and the implementation of it.

So the panel suggested the Regents and SED functionaries be forced to attend ten hours of Common Core training and PD per week for the next three years as part of the...

Nahh - just kidding.

Cuomo's Common Core panel wants more training for teachers, of course:

The report supports local professional development opportunities for teachers as well as a plan that would “showcase” examples of successful implementation in a local area. Schools successfully implementing Common Core would be highlighted for other local teachers and principals.

Oh goodie - more Common Core PD!

Just what I was looking for.

Meanwhile the arrogant people who put all of these reforms together at the Board of Regents and the Gates Foundation, er, New York State Education Department get off scott free.

No accountability for either the Regents or the SED functionaries.

Here's hoping the legislature sends a message tomorrow by throwing some of them out.

More PD.

Just what we need.

Hope it's done by the same geniuses who created the SED modules.

Cuomo's Common Core Panel Issues Report

Panel calls for continued implementation of Common Core and APPR but recommends the state cut inBloom ties:

Gov. Cuomo's Common Core panel wants to restrict how much time can be used teaching to the tests, limit standardized testing to those above second grade, and end a controversial contract with a data sharing company, the Daily News has learned.

The report is broken into four sections of recommendations, legislative and other sources briefed on the findings say.

One recommendation would limit to 1% the instructional time that can be spent on the assessment tests and another 1% giving the tests. In addition, there should be a limit of no more than 2% of instructional time for "test prep" under testing conditions.

The report will also recommend barring standardized testing for students in prekindergarten through second grade and ensuring that the English and math assessment exams will not be used against students when it comes to grade promotion or appear on their permanent records.

For the time being, students would take both the new Common Core Regents exams and the old ones, with the highest score counting, the report recommends, according to sources.

And it would give districts flexibility to waive certain testing for the severely disabled and those for whom English is a second language.

The sources say the report also recommends creating online resources and toolkits for parents to help them work with their kids at home and calls for local community events and the dissemination of materials through schools, non-profit groups, libraries and other partners.

In addition, the report calls for increased professional development opportunities for teachers as well as opportunities for more collaboration among instructors on lesson plans and classroom practices.

The report, the sources say, also urges that teachers get access to the Common Core curriculum as quickly as possible.

And it calls on the state to halt its relationship with inBloom, a private company that would have access to private student data that can be shared. The sources say there is also a recommendation for strict data protection and security requirements.

Many of the recommendations mirror what has already been proposed by the Board of Regents. The report does not recommend delaying the teacher evaluation process as some legislators want, though it does back the Regents decision to delay by five-years requiring passage of Common Core Regents exams in order to graduate. The new standards will take affect for the class of 2022.

The report comes out a day before the Legislature is set to consider whether to reappoint four members of the Board of Regents. The normally staid process is expected to be contentious because of anger over the Regents' missteps in implementing the Common Core.

The tests will still count for school ratings and teacher evaluations, but they're going to limit test prep to 2% of instructional time?

Oh, yeah - I'm sure that'll happen.

So long as the tests remain high stakes for schools and teachers, there is going to be an inordinate amount of test prep taking away from instructional time.

That's the reality, no matter what jive Cuomo's CCSS panel tries to enshrine into practice.

If they want to get rid of the test prep, they need to get rid of the high stakes attached to the tests.

Since Cuomo is adamant that won't happen, the test prep part of this report is garbage.

I'll have more later - especially about the part about giving both the old AND the new Common Core tests to students.

They want to limit the time spent on testing but they're going to give both the old AND the new tests - that should go swimmingly.

Long Island Superintendents Call For Moratorium On Common Core

From Newsday:

Suffolk County school superintendents stepped up efforts to halt the state's next round of Common Core standardized tests, now less than a month away, with a direct appeal Monday to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The local school leaders acknowledged that probably only a U.S. Department of Education waiver could stop the tests for children in grades 3-8, scheduled to be given in April and early May in English Language Arts and math.

The urgency of the situation calls for Cuomo's involvement, they said, even though most testing policy is set by the state Board of Regents and the education commissioner, who reports to the board.

"Time is quickly running out: April -- and testing -- will soon be here," said the moratorium request to the governor from the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association. "There is still time to do what is right for our students."

The governor's office issued no immediate response. Cuomo has criticized the state Education Department's implementation of the Common Core academic standards as flawed.

State education officials, however, said any moratorium on ELA and math testing for grades 3-8 would violate federal law and risk loss of millions of dollars in financial assistance from the federal government to the state.

The letter was signed by Roberta Gerold, the association's president and superintendent of Middle Country schools, and Michael Mensch, chief operating officer of Western Suffolk BOCES. It represented the association's most direct demand yet for a temporary halt in the state's toughened assessments, which resulted in plunging student scores last spring.

According to the Here and Now update at State of Politics, a Capital Pro article that is behind a paywall had the following:

State Education Commissioner John King and Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said in a statement that an Assembly bill to delay Common Core implementation would violate federal law and jeopardize “the day-to-day operations” of schools.

As for Cuomo, his campaign is running his Common Core ad this week (you can see the ad here) that has the governor trying to make as if he has nothing to do with all the Common Core tests and APPR tests being given to kids in NY State as a result of his education policies.

Meanwhile John Flanagan, head of the State Senate Education Committee, said yesterday that he doesn't want a delay in Common Core implementation, indeed, he thinks the timetable is just fine. 

The Regents, the NYSED, the governor and the members of the Legislature are all scrambling to save their precious education reform agenda.

Alas, the agenda is so badly designed and flawed that it will fall apart no matter how hard they try to save it.

The more they try and fiddle with things around the edges while leaving the "core" reforms intact, the more unstable and tenuous the whole reform structure becomes.

Perhaps if they had been thoughtful and patient in their designing the agenda and their implementation of it, they could have avoided so much of the controversy they're now trying to handle.

But they infamously compared some of their reform agenda to building an airplane while already in flight (given how little of the reform agenda was actually thought out and tested, an apt metaphor) and now that flawed, badly designed, incomplete airplane is coming crashing to the ground.

If CCSS Tests Aren't Good Enough To Be Used For Student Evaluations, Why Are They Good Enough For Teacher Evaluations And Merit Pay?

A commenter on the Newsday article reporting Andrew Cuomo is going to run his own pro-CCSS ads that will also criticize the CCSS roll-out from the state and say the CCSS tests are not ready to be used on students:

So he says outright that using the test scores is unfair for evaluating students....But it IS fair for evaluating teachers? And he thinks some should get a taxpayer funded $20,000 bonus based on an unfair evaluation? I'm a TEACHER and I think that is an OUTRAGE!

Indeed, where does Cuomo get off criticizing the CCSS tests for use on children but defending the CCSS tests for use on teachers as part of APPR and merit pay as part of his education reform proposals for 2014?

Another commenter writes:

Mr. Cuomo's one-size-fits-all teacher evaluation plan caused excessive testing, wastes instructional time, and leads to teaching to the test, It is a major piece of the problem and should be addressed.

This commenter has a very good point as well - one of the complaints about the CCSS reform agenda from the NYSED and Regents is that there is excessive testing taking place that is putting a ton of anxiety on students, parents and teachers and sapping resources from schools and districts.

Cuomo's APPR teacher evaluation system is THE major reason why this is happening.

He can criticize the CCSS rollout all he wants and try and displace blame onto SED and the Regents.

The fact is, one of THE major reasons why there is so much overtesting in NY State is because Governor Cuomo's APPR teacher evaluation system mandates 40% of a teacher's rating come from so-called student performance (i.e., tests and "performance assessments.")

Governor Cuomo To Air His Own Common Core Ads This Week

From Newsday:

ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will start airing a statewide television ad this week to push his reforms to the Common Core curriculum so students won't unfairly be hurt by test scores under the new, higher standards, a spokesman said Sunday evening.

The governor's push comes amid a move by Assembly Democrats to delay aspects of the highly criticized Common Core standards for two years.

Cuomo speaks directly into the camera in the ad, which is designed to underscore his proposal to better train teachers and prepare students and their parents for the national Common Core initiative. Cuomo supports the higher standards, but said the uproar in recent months by parents and teachers shows the rollout by the state Education Department was flawed.

"While the state's new Common Core curriculum is heading in the right direction, testing on it is premature," Cuomo tells viewers. "It creates anxiety and it's just unfair. And their [children's] scores should not be counted against them."

Such TV ads aren't uncommon for governors seeking to gain public support for their proposals. A Cuomo spokesman said the ad will be paid for by Cuomo's campaign.

Cuomo has created his own commission to find a way to better inform parents and students, and better train teachers to adjust to the higher standards. Cuomo also wants students in kindergarten through second grade to be exempt from standardized tests, which critics say are stressing students in all grades.

The ad comes as the Assembly's Democratic majority plans to introduce a bill that would delay teacher evaluations conducted under the Common Core effort for two years, defying Cuomo's plans. The Democrats, including Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Education Committee chairwoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood), are scheduled to discuss the proposal in closed-door conference Monday and perhaps vote on it this week.

Odd that Cuomo is running an ad to defend his Common Core reform policy, since he just told us last week that he has nothing to do with the state education policy.

Clearly he is feeling the pressure over CCSS and feels like he needs to defend Common Core himself, in a commercial paid for by his own campaign, with him speaking directly into the camera about the reform policies.

I'll have a lot more to say about this later today, but let's say for now that by defending CCSS in his own words (even as he criticizes the state's implementation of  the standards) he is now out in the open owning Common Core as his policy.