AFT President Calls for Delay in Common Core Standards-Based Assessments

As schools begin to implement the Common Core State Standards, many have begun to look ahead to how those standards will be assessed and whether adopting them will truly lead to gains in student achievement. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, thinks educators should hold off on implementing Common Core-aligned assessments. In a speech given on April 30, Weingarten called on states to rethink holding teachers and students accountable to the standards.

Instead of being assessment focused, Weingarten wants teachers and schools to be standards focused. New curricula that incorporate the Common Core have been introduced in school districts. Weingarten says teachers must be given time to master the new curriculum before they even begin to think about measuring student progress. As they begin to master the curriculum, teachers can then begin to review Common Core-aligned assessments and ensure that they accurately measure student progress.

The Common Core State Standards are designed to provide students with a high-quality education in language arts and mathematics. To provide this high-quality education, the standards focus on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. These standards lead to a more rigorous curriculum, to which students and teachers may need time to adapt.

Weingarten called on the state of New York to serve as a model for other states to follow. New York teachers have expressed frustration that they are being held accountable for student performance on exams tied to standards to which they have not been adequately trained to teach. The state debuted its Common Core-aligned assessments this spring. However, the curriculum aligned to the Common Core State Standards has not yet been fully adopted. Therefore, while the assessments are aligned to the standards, teachers have not had time to adequately implement the new curriculum to ensure they have covered all of the standards included on the state exams. As a result, the assessments have left students and teachers feeling stressed and fearing a decrease in test scores. For Weingarten, this lack of preparation on the part of both teachers and students is exactly why states should wait to tie student performance goals and teacher evaluations to the new tests.

But not everyone agrees. StudentsFirstNY, an organization dedicated to ensuring that students in New York’s public schools receive a quality education, thinks a delay in testing will continue to hold students back, and the group supports New York’s decision to tie the results of new tests to teacher evaluations. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have also insisted on tying teacher evaluations to the results of the new tests.

Currently, 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the standards, and support among teachers is strong. The focus of the debate on both sides is not whether the Common Core State Standards have the potential to improve student achievement, but on when teachers and students should be held accountable for meeting these new standards.

Weingarten is asking that states like New York wait one year before holding students and teachers accountable, giving them time to adjust. Otherwise, they may yield undesirable results, like the drop in test scores Kentucky experienced when it introduced its own assessments last year.

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