Yesterday, I wrote a piece on Fountas and Pinnell. It was clear that the newly identified below grade level readers were not a result of a sudden reading crisis, but a shifting of F & P cut scores.
Rupert Murdoch (who once claimed ed was a $500 billion industry) and happens to own DIBELS, also decided to raise the bar for children. Under the guise of Common Core, the cut scores for DIBELS have been changed. For instance, pre Common Core a 1st grader was expected to read 40-64 words per minute. Under the Common Core, they are now expected to read 69+ words per minute.
There is no money to be made in labeling children as successful, but labeling them failures has continued to fuel the perceived crisis in education and increases profits.
I was in finance before I became a teacher. If someone tried to push this through, they would be laughed right out of the door. Yet, we are making decisions for millions of children with these flawed metrics without giving it a second thought. Time for a close read…
lacetothetop 
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. It is very sad. I would hate to be a K-12 teacher or student. I teach ESL in a community college. Thank GOODNESS my students and I don’t have these hoops to jump through!
Also- Sir, since you were in finance, have you written an article on how common core is simply a way to make a market? (Present a problem, provide a solution). I’ve studied markets and derivatives and the banking system since 2008 when the crisis came. And when studying ed-reform I’ve seen it as a way to get the ed money $750 billion/year. If you’ve written about this, I’d love to see it! I wrote about it here- http://restoregedfairness.org/latest-news/38-common-core-is-just-the-latest-of-the-billionaire-scams and in several other places. I’m wondering your thoughts as a former finance person. YOU have a knowledge base and lense that most of the rest of us teachers don’t have! THANK YOU FOR WRITING!