The national press has had about a week to get the word of the decision made by our Board of Ed here in Massachusetts regarding the new PARCC exam. Locally, it was mostly taken as another step in a phased-in approach to the switch.
Nationally...not so much.
I was going to ignore this national spin when I saw it only from the (conservative) Heritage Foundation blog, figuring it was coming only from one particular place on the political spectrum. But today Valerie Strauss (who covers education for the Washington Post online) has a similar take: that is is a delay, a crack, a lessening of support for the Common Core and for the new exam. It's also being read that way in Florida, which is in the midst of deciding its own testing future.
Now, there's always wheels within wheels, and I think those of feel that Chester's being pressured on keeping the MCAS are right. But if you go back and look at what the Board of Ed thought it was doing--or at least said it was doing--last Tuesday, I don't think anyone there saw this as any sort of backing away from the Common Core or PARCC.
So...interesting.
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