Category Archives: Common Core

#DM7 Article: Hagan Admits Skipping Vital Committee Meetings To Fundraise #NCSEN

Posted on October 12, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

This is reposting of my weekly Da Tech Guy column: Hagan Admits Skipping Vital Committee Meetings To Fundraise #NCSEN

By A.P. Dillon

On Tuesday evening, the 2nd Senate debate between NC Speaker of the House Thom Tillis and NC Senator Kay Hagan took place. It was a typical debate in that the challenger would pose a question and the incumbent would dodge answering said question. This debate was a little different from the first in terms of Hagan’s posturing and overall hostility throughout the event. She was clearly on the defensive.

KEEP READING… Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, Senate 2014 | Tagged , | Comments Off on #DM7 Article: Hagan Admits Skipping Vital Committee Meetings To Fundraise #NCSEN

An NC Look At Malkin Article ‘Look Who Is Data Mining Your Toddlers’

Posted on October 11, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Michelle Malkin has an important article out on data mining and how it is being done on our littlest citizens. The article covers a group called TS Gold (Teaching Strategies Gold). North Carolina uses TS Gold.

NC Uses TS Gold => Look who’s data-mining your toddlers http://t.co/Ch172cSEJm #nced #stopcommoncore

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) October 10, 2014

Malkin writes that TS Gold is an assessment tool tracking our littlest learners and is expanding through Third grade, with the bonus of capturing behavioral data:

KEEP READING… Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, NC DPI | Tagged , , | Comments Off on An NC Look At Malkin Article ‘Look Who Is Data Mining Your Toddlers’

Common Core Aligned: Third Sector New England, Inc.

Posted on October 10, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

“…to create just these kinds of tests—next-generation assessments aligned to the common core. When the tests are aligned to the common standards, the curriculum will line up as well—and that will unleash powerful market forces in the service of better teaching.” – Bill Gates, 2009 Speech To Natl. Conference of State Legislatures

The goal is to align everything so that students and the money have nowhere to go but Common Core.

Last time we looked at The Achievement Network (Anet). Today we’re looking into a group called Third Sector New England, Inc.

READ MORE Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged , | 1 Comment

WCPSS Enters Into “Digital Promise League”, Tied To Gates Foundation

Posted on October 9, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Wake County Schools has been accepted into the “League of Innovative Schools” via a group called “Digital Promise”. Sounds awesome right? Yeah, not so much.

Think of Common Core as a stool and one of the biggest legs is the cost of Technology. I’m not saying increased technology and bandwidth in schools is bad, it’s inevitable. I’m saying the how and who doing it stinks to high heaven.
Bear this in mind as you read on.

WCPSS PRESS RELEASE
Snippet from the WCPSS press release with emphasis added:

Digital Promise, a national, independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to accelerate innovation in education, recently announced that the Wake County Public School System is one of 11 new members accepted into the League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of school district superintendents committed to innovation.

KEEP READING… THERE IS A LOT MORE. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged , | 2 Comments

10,000 Comments: NC Overall Feedback on K-5 ELA Standards

Posted on October 8, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

At one point or another every Common Core fighter has heard this line, or a version of it, as a defense for the lack of public vetting of the standards:

Forty-six states brought together experts, teachers and researchers to write the Common Core State Standards, along with almost 10,000 comments and suggestions, including many from Oregon teachers and parents. Oregon adopted them in 2010. The standards are well-matched for our classrooms and will help our students learn more. Please visithttp://corestandards.org/the-standards to read the full set of standards.

In the last week, I’ve obtained some of these 10,000 comments – which turned out to be really 8,731 comments. I’ve begun publishing the North Carolina portion of the ‘public comments’ made to the CoreStandards.org site prior to Common Core being rolled out in 2010. Get caught up:

The Infamous “10,000” Comments On Common Core
10,000 Comments: NC Overall Feedback
I’ve just finished the next section (K-5 ELA reading) where written feedback instead of a number score could given. You can access this document and download it here.

In total, there was only one positive comment about the K-5 Reading section. Almost all speak to the age and developmental inappropriateness.

A few excerpts:

KEEP READING – SEE THE COMMENTS & EXCERPTS Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core | 1 Comment

Common Core Aligned: The Achievement Network

Posted on October 7, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

“…to create just these kinds of tests—next-generation assessments aligned to the common core. When the tests are aligned to the common standards, the curriculum will line up as well—and that will unleash powerful market forces in the service of better teaching.” – Bill Gates, 2009 Speech To Natl. Conference of State Legislatures

The goal is to align everything so that students and the money have nowhere to go but Common Core.

Last time, we explored the ‘Common Core Quest’ app. Today we’re taking a look at what the ‘data driven’ outfit The Achievement Network (Anet) does.

KEEP READING – FOLLOW THE MONEY Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged , | 1 Comment