Why We Should be Skeptical about the Common Core Tom loveless Senior Fellow, Governance Studies Brown Center on Education Policy The brookings institution May 19, 2014
State Content Standards Relationship: Fordham’s Ratings of State Content Standards with State NAEP Gains Standards Rating Correlation Coefficient Fordham 2000 -0.06 Fordham 2006 0.01 Change in Fordham 2000-2006 0.08
Relationship: State Proficiency Level with NAEP Achievement State Proficiency Levels Relationship: State Proficiency Level with NAEP Achievement 2005 NAEP 2009 NAEP Change 2005-2009 4th Grade Reading -0.22 -0.08 0.35* 4th Grade Math -0.12 0.01 0.34* 8th Grade Reading -0.11 -0.09 0.06 8th Grade Math 0.00 0.02 *p < 0.05
Variation of State NAEP Scores Between- and Within-State Variation of State NAEP Scores Average State NAEP Score Between-State SD Within-State SD Multiple (Within/ Between) 4th Grade Reading 220.1 6.6 34.7 5.3 4th Grade Math 239.5 6.3 27.8 4.4 8th Grade Reading 263.3 6.5 32.9 5.1 8th Grade Math 282.4 8.5 34.8 4.1
Implementation Rating Changes in NAEP Scores Changes in NAEP Scores (in Scale Score Points), by Implementation of CCSS Implementation Rating 2009-2011 2011-2013 2009-2013 Strong (n=19) 1.65 0.23 1.88 Medium (n=26) 0.39 0.61 1.00 Non-adopters (n=5) 1.30 -0.69 All (n=50) 0.96 0.34
Why Are the Effects So Weak? Implementation is everything that happens after adopting standards, including: All four components vary in quality. Curriculum Instruction Assessment Accountability
Conclusion Common Core is unlikely to have a significant effect on student achievement. Common Core is unlikely to have a significant effect on student achievement.