Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Common Core dilemma Common core and the state standards have pretty much generalized the ELA classroom to a set of critical reading, writing, and communication skills rather than any specific content. As a reaction to this, my school replaced previous assessments that tested "content" (a test over a novel or over a short story unit) with assessments that test skills. So, many tests are now made up of almost all cold reads. There is virtually no way to student for our tests now. Students have recognized this and are not valuing classroom work assigned to strengthen these skills because the content won't be tested. Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) It is always good to be up-front and honest with your students. I would communicate my concerns with the students as a whole class, and say that you have found that many of them are not valuing the units because they know that the assessments are made up of cold reads. I would explain to them that your instruction takes lots of planning, and each unit matches up with the cold read assessments. I have explained this to my high school ELA students, and now they understand that while plot lines are important (and it's important to thematically connect pieces in a unit), there is a method to the madness. We focus on the skills they have obtained through the novels and short stories, and I have found that my cold read assessments have improved. We should not hide anything from our students-- the more they know about how the educational system works today, the better understanding they have as to why we do what we do. I would use cold reads here-and-there throughout the week to reinforce the skills. For lower grades (middle school and below), ReadWorks.org has cold reads with multiple choice and constructed response questions. This can be sorted by content, fiction vs. non-fiction, and by Lexile number. It was great for my Reading Intervention class last year!                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: I particularly like this one. Rated On: October 14, 2015 5:32 pm Rated By: Robert Hendler                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: Honesty is the best solution. Rated On: July 9, 2017 5:35 pm Rated By: uTaGuv