Concerns on Common Core presented to Ridgewood school board
SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014, 11:09 AM
BY BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER
An apple core that has become the sign for the opposition to new state standards for school curriculum was featured prominently on buttons of many of the two dozen parents who came to speak at the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) meeting Aug. 25.
The public outcry against the Common Core and standardized testing is growing in Ridgewood with the help of a group named Ridgewood Cares About Schools, which has formed online on Facebook and drawn many to in-person meetings this summer.
The parents (and many grandparents) raised issues of concern during the public comment portion of the meeting, including that the testing is done on computers, the lack of transparency of where and what test data is shared, and that there are too many instructional hours devoted to testing. They also said that the Common Core standards for math and other subjects are confusing and urged the BOE to reject them in fear that the standards and focus on test preparation will create bad curricula.
Anne Burton Walsh, one of the founders of Ridgewood Cares About Schools, said the increase in the use of technology in the younger grades is “unnecessarily expensive and potentially harmful.” Ridgewood is currently implementing its one-to-one initiative with Google Chromebooks at the high school and plans to give one to every student in Grades K-8 in the coming years, with one reason being that the students must take the new standardized tests on computers.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/concerns-on-common-core-presented-to-ridgewood-school-board-1.1079350#sthash.H53Rbqmb.dpuf