Who is asking for standards for K-2 & grade 12?

PARCC is now creating content frameworks for grades K-2 and grade 12.

From the Curriculum Matters Blog, by Catherine Gewertz, in Ed Week:

“The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, has released its final content frameworks for the common standards. And the newsiest thing about the document is this: The consortium is going to create content frameworks for grades K-2.

In a document describing the key strands of feedback on the content frameworks, PARCC said that one of the biggest demands was for K-2 frameworks that dovetail with the guidance the frameworks already offer for grades 3 and above. The consortium is already working on formative-assessment tools for K-2, but said it will also now develop content frameworks, to be issued in 2012.”

Here is what the actual document says, on page 1:

“The single most requested change to the frameworks was to create grade-level analyses for grades K-2. As PARCC's primary responsibility is to address the tested grades 3-8 and high school, frameworks for those grades have been created first. However, PARCC also plans to create formative assessment tools for grades K-2. These tools are intended to be curriculum embedded and voluntary, and to support teaching and learning in the early grades by providing early and regular feedback to teachers on student progress.”

Expanding to grade 12 is also mentioned in several places in the document.

Who requested these changes? The document only tells us that:

“Nearly 1,000 responses were collected, and respondents included K-12 educators, principals, superintendents, higher education faculty, school board members, parents and students. In fact, over 77 percent of respondents were teachers, administrators or curriculum directors.”

I wonder if the “requests” to expand to K-2 and grade 12 came from those who work directly with students, or from those not in the 77%: Those who create and profit from the tests that are the inevitable spawn of these brave new standards.

Ed Week Blog: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/11/assessment_consortium_releases_1.html

PARCC document: http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCC%20MCF%20Response%20to%20Public%20Feedback_%20Fall%202011%20Release.pdf