Math Assignment Rekindles Common Core Debate

A third grade math problem went viral after someone posted it on Reddit, sparking another debate about controversial Common Core standards.

The test asked for 5×3. The student correctly answered 15 and wrote out 5 + 5 + 5 = 15. However, the teacher marked it wrong since they did not include 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 15.

Common Core pushes students to answer 5×3 with “five groups of three” instead of “three groups of five.”

The complicated standards forced Denise Handley, a private tutor who used to be a teacher, back to school to learn the new methods. Common Core even forces parents to attend classes to learn how to properly help their children with their homework.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released the Nation’s Report Card this week that shows for the first time in 25 years that match scores in fourth and eighth grade dropped.

“At grade 8, national average scores were lower than in 2013 in both mathematics and reading and this was generally true for students across the performance range,” stated Peggy Carr, the acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). “The average grade 8 reading score was higher in 1 state; the average mathematics score did not increase in any state. Scores were lower in 26 states in either mathematics or reading, or in both subjects.”

A study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showed Congress that three quarters of eighth graders “tested below proficiency level in geography last year.”

The ACT – makers of the standardized college admissions test – announced the standards have not made kids ready for college despite all the promises. The statistics in a report from The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2015 “has prompted ACT to issue a call to action to policymakers, educators, students and parents” to do more to properly prepare high school graduates for the real world.

“The needle is barely moving on college and career readiness, and that means far too many young people will continue to struggle after they graduate from high school,” said ACT CEO Jon Whitmore. “This should be a wake-up call for our nation.”