Common Core Testing: What Do You Think?

Common Core Testing

As common core testing begins across the country, more and more parents are boycotting the standards test—many pulling their little ones out of school for the testing days. On one hand, I sympathize with the parents protesting common core testing—we don’t know very much about this test, how the questions are determined, or whether or not they’re actually helpful to our children. Plus, our kids spend so much time being tested, when maybe that time could be spent helping them with extra learning.

That said, I don’t know that pulling kids out of school on test day actually helps the kids in any way. What I think would be more interesting, and give parents a better leg to stand on when it comes to next year’s common core testing, would be to allow the children to take the test, but then to also ask your kiddos specific questions about the test itself after taking it—what was on it, had they covered those areas in class, what did they learn from it. Our education system is not perfect, and I am in no way saying that I am in favor of the tests as they exist now (it does sound like some work could be done to improve them), but life is full of annoying, frustrating tasks that we might not rather take part in. Rather than simply dismissing those tasks (like some are flatly dismissing the common core testing), it’s often more productive to actually see what the task is really about, what exactly it entails, and then form opinions and take a stance later on. Sometimes playing along with the system from within is the best way to encourage positive change.

I fully admit that my kids aren’t yet old enough to take part in the common core testing, so I don’t entirely know what I’d do when faced with this decision. So, I’d love to hear from all of you, as you might have points I haven’t heard or thought about yet. Please share your thoughts—we’re all learning here, and I’d love to learn from you!