Common Core: Boom or Bust

No Child Left Behind targeted 2013-2014 as the year American Education would report “all students will achieve proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics.

Since this target was set, the Obama administration has issued its “ESEA Reauthorization: A Blueprint for Reform ” and, through the Race to the Top funding competitions, forty-five states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity have adopted the Common Core State Standards.

The Common Core standards were designed to elevate teaching and learning.  Tied to the Common Core is the expectation that having higher standards will better prepare students for college and careers. Supporters say they do that; critics say they don’t for a variety of reasons.

Issues such as:  implementation of the standards, validation and reliability of the new Core-aligned standardized tests, stakeholder interpretations of Common Core results, and the education system’s capacity to provide the infrastructure to support Common Core implementation, threaten to dismantle the movement.

Facebook activity doesn’t predict job performance, researchers say

There is “essentially zero” correlation between recruiters’ ratings of candidates’ Facebook profiles and their job performance, according to researchers led by Florida State University’s Chad Van Iddekinge. The research contradicts a previous study that supported social media as a job-performance predictor. Forbes (1/3)

Smartbrief on Workforce 1/6/14