Education Week - August 28, 2013 - 29

EDUCATION WEEK AUGUST 28, 2013 www.edweek.org
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29
PRESIDENT & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Virginia B. Edwards
“
WEBCOMMENT
of theWEEK
“I was not trained to improve test scores;
I was trained to improve students’ lives and
futures, which have precious little to do
with a bubble test.”
—jt53,
responding to the Walt Gardner’s Reality Check blog post
“Rating Schools of Education”
To read the blog post and respond, go toÜ www.edweek.org/go/gardner-rating.
The Cure for
Common-Core
Syndrome
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27
a routine part of reading instruction for all elementary
students. The reading-foundational-skills standards in
the common core show that their authors recognized the
importance of these skills.
What is not clearly evident, however, is how much
time and practice needs to be devoted to mastering these
skills.
Despite the evidence, we appear to be drifting away
from systematic instruction in these skills. In part, this
is the result of the placement of the reading foundational
skills after the text-based standards in the common
core, thus potentially minimizing their importance.
It also stems from a testing plan that starts in 3rd
grade, with fewer states attending to the importance
of preventive screening and early diagnosis of reading
problems in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Continued
vigilance in the primary grades and systematic
reading instruction are imperative. Because of the
emphasis placed on literary and informational text
work, it is important to remember that children must
be able to decipher words and read fluently, especially
if they are going to meet increasingly rigorous textual
demands.
Designing curriculum of sufficient depth to effectively
address foundational skills while also meeting the common
core’s demands regarding text will be challenging.
Will the new basal readers or anthologies meet these
dual challenges?
Without a strong and continued commitment to effective
research-based early-literacy instruction alongside
COMMENTARY
ONLINE
n Education Week
will have a
publishing break
next week, but
look for Webonly
opinion
pieces and blog posts
on Commentary online.
www.edweek.org/go/
commentary
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Gregory Chronister
MANAGING EDITORS Karen Diegmueller,
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS
Mark W. Bomster, Kevin C. Bushweller,
Debra Viadero
COMMENTARY EDITOR Elizabeth Rich
DEPUTY COMMENTARY EDITOR
Mary-Ellen Phelps Deily
ASSISTANT EDITORS Sean Cavanagh,
Catherine Gewertz, Michele McNeil, Erik W. Robelen,
Stephen Sawchuk
STAFF WRITERS Katie Ash, Benjamin Herold,
Alyson Klein, Lesli A. Maxwell, Michele Molnar,
Christina A. Samuels, Sarah D. Sparks,
Andrew Ujifusa, Jaclyn Zubrzycki
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Caralee Adams,
Julie Blair, Diette Courrégé Casey, Michelle R. Davis,
Nora Fleming, Karla Scoon Reid, Mark Walsh
COMMENTARY ASSOCIATE Catherine A. Cardno
EDITORIAL INTERNS Mike Hricik, Sean Meehan,
Alyssa Morones
rich content, we may be doomed to high rates of failure
in the upper grades by students who still don’t read well.
As a profession, we seem to avoid discussions of teaching
methods. Once we have defined a specific curriculum,
how we teach it does make a difference. A strong body
of research points to instructional methods that have
a high likelihood of raising achievement. In a recent
essay for the Education Week Teacher online site, Mike
Schmoker argued for “soundly structured lessons” based
on research dating back nearly 50 years but largely ignored.
He said the research recommended:
• Articulating a purpose statement or opening with a
provocative question;
• Modeling or demonstrating
the carefully
calibrated steps in
learning a new skill;
• Guided and active
practice of each individual
small step the
teacher modeled while
checking for understanding;
and
• Repeating the cycle
based on student feedback
and to support
those who need further instruction.
Curriculum and instruction must be the levers by
which the common-core standards become reality and
firmly take root. State departments of education must
play a vital role in ensuring this focus.
Setting rigorous expectations for what students should
know and be able to do is an essential step that will
bring a degree of consistency to our national education
system. However, the common-core standards represent
neither salvation nor Armageddon. Rather, it is time
to shift national intensity from the standards to their
implementation, with a focus on curriculum and instruction.
Without this shift, the common core may end up as
just one more failed reform.n
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING, LIVE AND
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Swikar Patel
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VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT Christopher B. Swanson
n Jonathan Plucker finished his
stint as a guest blogger for Rick
Hess Straight Up and sparked
conversation with his “angry
moderate reformer” perspective
on Tony Bennett, teacher-prep,
academic freedom, poverty
reduction, and special
education.
www.edweek.org/go/hess
SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE Sterling C. Lloyd
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES Carrie A. Matthews,
Sean Chalk
n What’s more fun than a field
trip? Check out Education Week
Teacher’s interactive online fieldtrip
map and submit your own
favorite field-trip venue.
www.edweek.org/go/getgoing
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Education Week - August 28, 2013

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