And remember that the SAT is still used overseas. Those places are not picking up the common core. This guy is just wrong on this video.
Singapore and China are not adopting the common core. But those kids will still be getting in to American schools are even higher rates than they are now.
And my older kids are in college with those international students. All that matters is who can do better. American public schooled engineering students drop out at a much higher rate than the international students. A real physics problem does not care at all about what you used as a child in school, it only cares that you can do it. And there is no lit on the SAT (unless they are taking the SAT 2 English Lit test).
Maybe, the issue is that they're talking about CHANGING the SAT/ACT to reflect CC. So the "advantage" your children (and mine!) could actually become a disadvantage.
I'll be ready with the ammunition that says, "If homeschoolers used to fare better on these tests, then why should homeschooling be outlawed? After all, no one tried to outlaw public schools when the homeschoolers were outscoring the PS kids."
I agree with Crazymama...I looked at common core, too. And the basics look pretty...basic...to me. I don't think the concept of "estimating" is something ANY homeschoolers would have a problem with. It's a basic skill. I think it's true that Math is a language you have to learn to express verbally. It has a vocabulary. Learning to use that vocabulary fluently is an important part of Math when you're communicating mathematic ideas....just as important in many fields, as being able to work the equations. So I really don't see what the problem is there. I understand the concern that individuality and regional (and education style) differences are important to people when educating their children. But I equally understand that a test that is given to ALL students in ALL states, and even internationally (The ACT) must be based on a single set of educational goals that everyone has access to....for everyone to have a fair chance at doing well on it. I honestly don't understand why it's such a big deal. I would be interested to hear your suggestions on how the ACT could make the test more fair for homeschoolers (while also being fair to everyone else). My kid took an ACT prep class. They're widely available. Two week programs. They cover concerns about strange wording, common glitches, commonly missed questions. Also, there are a million books you can buy as guides to the ACT for the year your kids take it. My kid took the ACT last year. She read one of the prep books, and got a composite 30....which is pretty darned good! Meh...if a kid in India who has never even visited America, can take the ACT and do well on it...common core, or no common core...so can a homeschooler. Just my two cents.
Anything that takes control away from the parents is not a good idea. If a parent has a problem, they can go to the teacher, to the principal, to the board. With CC, if there's a problem, none of those people can do a darn thing. They're hands are tied. Let me give you an example of a CC problem Rachael ran into a while back. It was part of an Algebra 1 book that had been discarded by the school district, and my dh got for free, thinking he was saving us lots of money. WRONG!!! The problem had to do with an airplane flying from City A to City B. Something like from Atlanta to Nashville. It gave the number of miles between the points, and then said that the plane was scheduled to arrive in three hours. How fast should the plane fly to arrive in time? Rachael did the math and (just making up numbers here) told me the plane needed to fly at 225 to arrive in three hours. So when we graded it, I was surprised to see something like, "The plane flies at 350 mph, arrives two hours early, and then needs to fly a holding pattern for two hours." HUH?!? I checked her math, and it was correct. For the life of me, I can't figure that one out!!! Finally (don't know if I saw it, or if Carl noticed it when I complained) we discovered a cutesy, comic-type picture at the bottom of the page which gave us the information that a plane must maintain a speed of 350 MPH to stay in the air. So, while her math gave the correct speed to get there in three hours, it was incorrect. It really wasn't "testing" her math ability at all! And the needed information wasn't included in the original problem. THAT was the day Carl came home and I had a REAL temper-tantrum, and he finally agreed to throw out the book!
Yep, that's a trick question. But it has a purpose. The information WAS there...just not in a format you were used to seeing it presented in. Yes, it's frustrating (and I'm empathetic to that, trust me), but it teaches skills of observation, thorough examination of ALL information presented, and really helps kids to make better scores on the science portion of the ACT....because a huge portion of the Science section of the ACT is reading graphs and charts and looking at supporting information all over the page, not just the obvious text instructions. It's sneaky and frustrating...but they are preparing you for ACT science....with a math question....and it does serve a purpose. I do understand how frustrating it is to try to teach a skill...and have a problem like that come up that seems to have been written with no other purpose than to sabotage you! LOL. But very honestly...get out a sample ACT test and look at the science questions and you'll understand why they're trying to improve those powers of observation! (No worries, if Rachel takes ACT prep, they'll warn her all about these traps and tricks...I highly recommend it...or a good ACT prep book at home) Not sure how it takes away control from parents. Can you elaborate?
We threw that book out. Rachael did get a book from the library to study for her ACT. She got 31 on her first try, but brought it up to a 32. We encouraged her to take it again, because a 32 was needed for full-tuition scholarship at one of the schools she was looking at. So not being taught "those" kind of questions didn't matter. They didn't ask any "trick question" like that on the test. A math book should TEACH MATH, and this one didn't.
Hey, Congrats to Rachael...awesome job on the ACT! It's good you threw the book out. Not all books are going to be written in a way that is compatible with all teacher's teaching styles. If it's not working for you...chuck it! (But try to understand that it might be just right for someone else) Ultimately, Rachael did AMAZING on her ACT...and that's the part that matters. What school does she hope to go to? Does she have a major in mind yet?
She is in her second year at Wright State, in Dayton, Ohio. She's in the Honors program, studying electrical engineering. But the whole trouble with CC is that a teacher/principal/ district CANNOT just throw it out if it isn't working. They have NO SAY in what is being taught, or how to teach it. A gal at my church says she's NOT ALLOWED to have kids do math drills, because memorizing facts isn't important in CC.
I just met a teacher two days ago who is going back to school and leaving the teaching profession over CC. She says she can't teach under CC.
The guy who made that video has no reference or anything else that the ACT or SAT will change. He claims they will change, but he gave nothing to back it up. The AP tests are not even changing. The AP courses are not changing. No one in the US can change the IB curriculum. And common core cannot touch the international community. Therefore, the SAT and ACT tests, which are created by private corporations, will not change to fit the common core.
