On Sunday the New York Times featured an article on the demise of the Common Core and PARCC assessments in Massachusetts. According to the Times, “the State Board of Education decided last week that Massachusetts would go it alone and abandon the multistate test in favor of one to be developed for just this state. The move will cost an extra year and unknown millions of dollars.”
I wrote about it here, noting that whatever new test Massachusetts developed would look an awful lot like PARCC and, in fact, Common Core wasn’t going anywhere.
Today PoliticoPro confirms that the state is, in fact, sticking with PARCC and Common Core. (Subscription only, so here’s the summary from Collaborative for Student Success):
Massachusetts State Chief: ‘We Have Not Abandoned’ PARCC, Common Core”: Mitchell Chester, Massachusetts’ education commissioner, said Tuesday the state has not “abandoned” PARCC assessments or Common Core Standards, and that the decision to develop an hybrid test has been misconstrued by the media. In a statement, Chester said “national media” has “inaccurately described Massachusetts as ‘abandoning’ the Common Core and PARCC. We have not abandoned either one…In 2010, our state Board adopted the Common Core State Standards as a way to reinforce the importance of reading, writing and critical thinking skills, skills that we know our employers and colleges value…Educators have been teaching curricula aligned with the Common Core for several years, and…teachers will continue to do so and to build on the standards.” Massachusetts remains a member of the PARCC consortium and will incorporate PARCC material in its new tests.
The Gray Lady should run a correction, or at least a clarification. Public Editor, take note.
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