This week, New York state officials announced that schools would replace the Common Core standards put in place after former president George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind program, which many felt put too much focus on test scores as a measure of success rather than actual comprehension of the material by each individual child. After two years of deliberations and input from education experts, parents and teachers, a different set of standards will be used to evaluate K–12 students at the end of each year.
The new English and math standards, called Next Generation, will not be in full effect until September 2020, with revised state exams taking place the following spring for grades 3 through 8. Until then, officials will begin spreading awareness about the new standards throughout the current school year with two-day assessments and staff trainings. Over the following two years, officials will move on to a “capacity building” campaign that will further prepare staff before Next Generation goes into effect for fall 2020.
Still, many are not persuaded that this new set of standards is any different than Common Core—it's still a single blanket set of standards by which all children are measured. To not fall in line and meet the set scores would mean failure for both child and teacher, a pressure critics believe hinders growth, creativity and an enjoyment of learning and teaching. Does Next Generation merely makes changes to Common Core rather than completely overhauling it?
Among the changes in Next Generation standards are school rating systems, which will now take more into account for achievement level scores beyond standardized test scores. Schools that show growth in a wider range of academic areas will be rewarded as will schools who report fewer student absences.
To learn more about the new standards and changes being implemented, visit nysed.gov, and if you’re looking for ways to supplement your child's education and foster their creativity, check out our list of the best after-school programs for kids, the best places to learn Spanish and other foreign language classes for kids.