The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA), the largest union group representing teachers and other education professionals, has issued statements and an online petition for Maryland to adjust its implementation of the “common core” curriculum and testing model in the years ahead.
From the MSEA website:
The poorly planned implementation of new Common Core-based curriculum, new teacher evaluations, and the shift from MSA to PARCC assessments are all hitting at one time. Instead of a thoughtful, measured roll-out that helps take our schools to the next level, this tsunami of education reform is threatening the success of Maryland’s world-class schools.
While accountability and student achievement are important goals, we cannot let unproven and unreliable testing and evaluation systems punish our teachers and principals, unfairly label our students and schools, and usurp local school systems’ abilities to make policy decisions that work for their communities.
