TalkingPoints

Thefollowingguidehasbeencreatedtohelpyouinyoureffortstoindividuallyadvocate forsensiblemeasurestorealizethepromiseoftheCommonCore.

Valueinputfromparents
What we mean and how to use it: it has only been within the past several days (late October) that recognition of the concerned voices of parents, educational professionals and legislators has been acknowledged in a meaningful way by the Commissioner and the Board of Regents. As parents, our input should be considered most important to state officials. We must continue to help them understand that they must value our thoughts and concerns as a first priority. Adoption and implementation of the National Standards for Family School Partnerships and the accompanying Assessment, and recommendations for professional development in family engagement, by the Board of Regents would goalongwaytoaccomplishmeaningfultwowaycommunicationbetweenhome andschool.Alladvocacyshouldstartwiththisreminder!

Orderaoneyeardelay
What we mean and how to use it: We need to suspend the link between student test results and educator evaluation for at least a year. Failure to separate the multiple issues coming at us all at once is and will continue to have a negative impact on our educators most important task: learning new content and adapting to new methods of instruction that will enhance student success. New York appears to be the only state that has NOT taken a deliberate and sequential approach to implementing these multiple reforms. The CommissionerandtheBoardofRegentshavethepowerto beresponsivetoour concernsbyimplementingchangeproperly.Weneedatleastayearofbreathing room for classroom educators to focus on the highest priority task adapting to new content and methods of instruction and not be concerned about performanceevaluation.Yourcommentsshouldfocusonthissensiblesolution, one that helps everyone understand what they are working toward and relievesthepressureonall.

Implementfirst,testsecond
What we mean and how to use it: SED and the Board of Regents have openly acknowledged the notion that testing (even on subject matter that students have not been prepared for) is a priority and that individuals and systems will adapt. The focus on testing has corrupted the understanding of the nobler

aspectsoftheCommonCoreandcreatedvalidfearsoftestingattheexpenseof learning.OurmantramustbethatoftheCommissionerinhisOctober24thletter in which he said "The amount of testing should be the minimum necessary to inform effective decisionmaking." We would go even further and say that testing should be the last piece of the implementation puzzle; first comes the creationofqualityimplementation,thenimprovedtestingmodels.

Createimproved,flexibletesting
What we mean and how to use it: One size does not fit all when it comes to testing.Asastart,theseassessmentsmustbegroundedinflexibleapplicationto measure the achievement of Student Learning Objectives (SLO) that actually will work to reduce testing. Our educational leaders need to hear that tests must be shorter and less frequent, especially for our elementary school students in grades 38; that our most challenged students require testing options; and that field tests should be built into required assessments, and not added onto alreadyburdensometestingschedules.Youradvocacyshouldbefocusedonthe necessityoftestingtohelpeducatorslearnhowtobesthelpstudentsitmust be more thoughtful, less frequent, and better suited to the learning objectives wehaveforindividualgroupsofstudents.

Expandprofessionaldevelopment
Whatwemeanandhowtouseit:Thecontinuousimprovementofinstructionis widely supported by parents, educators and administrators, but it cannot be achieved without a funding commitment for an array of professional developmentservicestohelpeducatorsevolvetheirpractices.Wesupportgood professional development models for teachers and administrators, those that helptheevaluatorsevaluateandtheeducatorstomeetcollectiveperformance goals. Unfortunately, this component is lacking. Our leaders need to hear that implementation of Common Core will be lessthansuccessful if we do not broadlysupportongoingprofessionaldevelopmenteffortstoupdatestandards and practices. In the era of limited state support and a revenuerestricting tax cap, local districts cannot shoulder this burden alone. The state must commit to helping Common Core implementation succeed with appropriate funding to continuouslydevelopoureducators.