Kids take Common Core tests with ‘inappropriate content, ambiguous questions’

◼ New York City principals are rising up against the Common Core testing that was forced on their students last week and contained “inappropriate conduct and ambiguous questions,” according to one principal. - Daily Caller

“The teachers and administrators are truly devastated by what a terrible test it was and how little it will tell us about our children,” wrote Liz Phillips, principal of PS321, in a statement.

According to Phillips, the Common Core-aligned tests — which were taken last week by third, fourth and fifth graders — contained misleading questions, subjective reading passages and even product placement....

“I am left to wonder if Pearson made a mistake: was this truly intended for 3rd Grade students?” asked Kate Matthews, another NYC principal, in a statement.

The principals agreed that whatever the results, they would have little bearing on their students’ actual academic proficiency.

◼ 13-year-old suspended for informing students of Common Core opt-out rights? - Daily Caller

A 13-year-old New York student says she was suspended for informing other students of their right to opt-out of Common Core-aligned standardized testing.

The student, Seirra Olivero of the Orange-Ulster BOCES school in Goshen, New York, was told to “shut [his] mouth,” about the fact that students were not actually required to take the controversial tests. Administrators suspended her for two days.

Olivero believed that the tests were “set up for the kids to fail,” according to The Times Herald-Record. It’s an opinion that many educators, administrators and parents share

Essentially, this student was suspended for showing independent thought.