Benefit of State School Standards Questioned in Ridgewood

The Common Core State Standards, scheduled for full implementation this school year throughout New Jersey, came under scrutiny last week in Ridgewood for the burdens some said it places on students and staff in the district.

Unlike past curriculum updates, the common core standards tie teacher assessments to student scores on a more rigorous testing schedule, explained Cheryl Best, Ridgewood’s new assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment during a presentation to the board of education Nov. 18.

Adopted in 2010 by New Jersey, one of 45 states to accept federal incentives to participate, the common core also represents a departure from prior curriculum writing, Best said, beginning with an emphasis on college and career readiness and working down to kindergarten.

The standards have increased the rigor of the curriculum particularly in younger grades, something that Best listed as a concern – and a departure from previous curriculum writing that focused on more free and creative time for kindergarteners.

They have also caused substantial shifts across the board in language arts and math curriculum, generally focusing on fewer subjects in more depth. 

As many as five standardized tests for grades three and above are to begin next school year under the standards – two optional formative assessments to serve as a baseline for preparations, two “high stakes” tests that will factor into teacher evaluations, and a speaking and listening assessment to be scored locally.

According to school officials, the content of the curriculum is not problematic, but a quick rollout has stretched district staff, and raised concerns that teachers could be assessed immediately based on a new test.

“If we had endless time to teach, I would think that there are very few people who would not want their children learning to the depth that these standards expect,” Best said last week.

Superintendent Dan Fishbein has said that the amount of assessments done by district administrators will be nearly double this year. There are also the costs of implementing new technology for the online format of the new tests, “accelerated” curriculum writing and additional staff training.

“It’s not all bad – don’t get me wrong,” Fishbein said. “But it was lost time on other things that could have been done in the district. The cost of this to the local district is significant.”

Costs are hard to pin down, because technology upgrades and professional development can have a benefit beyond adherence to the common core. But it is clear that state and federal funding do not shoulder the entire financial burden. 

Residents who spoke on the common core following Best’s presentation addressed budgetary concerns, a perceived overload of student testing and the worry that teachers, accountable to the standards, will shift a local approach that seems to have worked well in the past.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult for teachers to not teach to the test, on some level,” Terry Anzano, a village parent, told the board last week.

“It’s hugely important that we stay true to what we know in Ridgewood about college and career readiness,” said Jean McTavish, a New York City principal and village resident who said multiple generations of her family have gone on to competitive colleges based on a local approach to curriculum.

“We were able to achieve what we could because of the solid foundation that relied on the professional decisions made by the district,” she continued. “And unless something’s really changed drastically…it should be the same. We don’t need people coming in here telling us what to do.”

Board President Sheila Brogan said she has pressed state legislators and education officials, and conveyed the concern, among others, that the standards address educational problems not prevalent in village schools. But ultimately, officials said, the common core is beyond their ability to alter or delay.

“All the administrators and teachers are really agents of the state, and we’ve sworn oaths to follow what the state is telling us to do,” Fishbein said in a response to a parent who urged action on the issue. “We may not agree with all of it, but that’s our requirement and part of our job.”

Christina Krauss, a board member who spoke critically last week of some aspects of the common core, said that residents should voice their concerns at the state level and beyond.