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ing them problems to solve."
• The idea is that students will develop higher order thinking skills better by attempting to find a solution themselves--even if that means some frustration at first because they haven't been instructed in how to figure out the answer.
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• The learning curve
• Transitioning to this new system presents challenges for everyone in the classroom, according to Joel Price, superintendent of the Faulkton School District.
• "There is a large learning curve for staff and students," Price said. "They are right in the midst of it, and as such there are always issues that arise. They are being addressed through discussions among staff members and administrators about methodology, pedagogy, assessments and curriculum choices."
• Tom Nitchke, superintendent of the Kulm School District, said the transition has been harder for older students.
• "High school just started the transition this summer, and it's been harder for them," Nitchke said. "Our eighth-graders are taking algebra and have been complaining. Our seventh-graders had to be backed up far into elementary school level math because they didn't have the fundamentals. But I applaud these teachers for not just letting them slide through and instead doing the work themselves, and making the kids do the work, to get them up to standards."
• Some parents have also had concerns with the new standards.
• "My 7-year-old tested advanced in everything before CCS, and now is falling behind in math, and I was not provided enough information to be able to help her," said Samantha Mahin of Kulm. "We, as parents, had a very poor introduction to CCS, and that is the most insulting part of how it has been rolled out."
• The national Gallup poll mentioned earlier suggests Mahin wasn't the only one who didn't get much information before school started this fall--perhaps because school districts were still learning themselves. With fall parent-teacher conferences happening in many schools now, there's an opportunity for parents to learn more about how the standards are affecting their children's education.
• With a higher bar, test scores may well drop initially (early adopter New York released tests that showed significant declines in scores), but Nitchke said he's confident students and teachers will adapt.
• "It's just a standard that we have to hit at the end of the year, but we'll get there the way we always have," Nitchke said.
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