Common Core

“P-21’s disappearance would be a gain for America. The right kind of makeover could be a gain, too. But additional traction for the organization’s current agenda would be bad for the country, bad for the new “Common Core” standards and the assessments being developed around them, and possibly bad for CCSSO as well,” opines Checker Finn in the latest Education Gadfly.

He’s worried that the P21 / CCSSO partnership will increase the influence of the paid shills at P21. And his Gadfly op/ed is especially valuable for teasing out some of the most troubling implications of the merger. Will the strategic partnership affect the common standards as they’re adopted in districts around the country? Will P21 influence development of the common assessments being designed to measure student mastery of the standards? Will we begin to see “inter-personal, behavioral, attitudinal, and “life” and “innovation” skills” appear in CCSSO’s literature? And should we anticipate even more 21^st century nonsense from the president and his education chief?

It’s still too early to say. But CCSSO is, as Checker points out, a “pillar of the K-12 [education policy] establishment.” P21’s the outfit that pushes stuff like this. And, sure, model education commissioners like David Steiner and Deborah Gist wouldn’t sit around and talk about “global awareness” and “reacting positively to praise” with tech industry salesmen. Plenty of other members of CCSSO would. We’ve seen them do it. So forgive us for being skeptical of silver linings.

James Elias

Arne Duncan used an address to state policymakers this week to shill for 21st century skills.

He promised that new assessments would measure how students “analyze and solve complex problems, communicate clearly, synthesize information, apply knowledge, and generalize learning to other settings.” And Duncan’s speech blurred the line between the common state standards initiative and the 21st century skills agenda: “[M]any so-called experts questioned whether states could work together to set rigorous, globally competitive standards or collaborate to develop assessments of 21st century skills. But resolute governors, state education chiefs, and committed stakeholders across the country have proved the skeptics dead-wrong. Your collective courage today will transform educational opportunity for decades to come.”

The Secretary didn’t elaborate on what assessments of 21st century skills might look like, so allow us to offer you a preview: “For example, one possible assessment of 21st century skills would focus more on a student’s operational skills, such as her expertise in using multiple sources appropriately and efficiently, rather than on whether or not a correct response was submitted.” (Emphasis added; see full document here.)

Answering a question correctly: not a 21st century skill.

James Elias