Will New Common Core Tests Improve Students’ Skills

New tests used in Common Core are aimed at asking complex questions promoting in-depth thinking, and many consider them to be a step forward from multiple choice tests almost universally loathed both by teachers and students. But is it really so? Will this measure actually lead to any improvement with the situation current American education is in, the situation which many justifiably call catastrophic? For the last couple of decades educational system has passed through a number of major and minor overhauls that were supposed to improve the situation; so far they have only one thing in common: none of them showed any particular changes for the better. On the contrary, the statistics show that performance of students, their readiness for college and overall level of knowledge has been declining, ever more since the controversial No Child Left Behind act. Against this background, changes in Common Core testing look a little too much like flogging a dead horse. It is the entire system that is to blame, not testing standards. By changing little details like this we will not achieve any results – unless our aim is imitation of frenzied activity. No Child Left Behind scheme turned student’s performance into teacher’s responsibility. Today if a student does poorly on a standardized test it is not his or her, but teacher’s fault. It may be true – in some, very few, cases. But on the whole it is this idea that is to blame for the deplorable state in which our educational system is today. When the teacher is responsible for the student’s performance, the latter has little to no motivation to excel at studies; while the former has all too much motivation to dedicate the majority of his teaching to preparing students for the test and, in extreme cases, to manipulate the results of these tests so as to improve their results. Not only individual teachers, but entire schools are subjected to the same dynamic. As a number of reports have been showing for years, the amount of classroom time dedicated to revision and preparation to testing in general and to particular tests occupies an ever growing percentage of total time children spend at school. Education aimed at giving students knowledge gradually turns into education aimed at giving children knowledge and tricks that will help them pass the next test, after which teachers will be able to breathe a sigh of relief and get them off their hands, for somebody else to worry about them. Is it any wonder that in such an atmosphere high school graduates are ever worse off when it comes to college? Is it any wonder that when we strip the student of responsibility he or she doesn’t feel any responsibility? That is why changes in Common Core tests per se aren’t going to improve the situation in any major way. Yes, it may improve the performance of some students and make them readier to enter colleges – but it isn’t going to change the big picture.

African American During The Civil War - 1235 Words

African Americans Suffered During the Civil War Allison Wessels English 11- Period 5 Mrs. Blomme March 11, 2016 African American Suffered During the Civil War Outline: Thesis Statement: African American soldiers fighting in the Civil War. Introduction Introduce main points State thesis statement History of slavery Life of an African American slave Treatment Living conditions Work responsibilities African American soldiers Treatment of African American soldiers vs. White soldiers The number of slaves fighting for the South vs. North How African American soldiers affected the war Fugitive Slave Acts Effect on African American slaves Abolitionists and the Underground Railroad Putting this Act into effect Concluding Statement: So in conclusion, African American slaves had hard lives and suffered a lot through slavery and the Civil War. African Americans Suffered During the Civil War In the early 17th century, European settlers in North America turned to African slaves as a cheaper and more plentiful labor source than indentured servants. Slavery then spread quickly throughout the United States, but was most common in the Southern states where they used slaves as laborers on cotton plantations. When the Civil War broke out between the North and the South many young men went to join the war and even slaves left the plantations to fight for the Confederates. The war lasted from April 12, 1861 to the Spring of 1865 and during thatShow MoreRelatedAfrican Americans During The Civil War1211 Words   |  5 PagesAfter the Civil War, the United States underwent a period of reconstruction. From the time of 1877 to 1890, the US economy grew exponentially, wealthy business owners like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt built American cities and railroads, and immigrants from all over the world flooded into the country. However, during this period America also faced great amount of poverty, terrible working conditions, mass political corruptions, and a destruction of civil rights for African Americans, women, and immigrantsRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War844 Words   |  4 PagesOver the years, the African American race has greatly evolved from having a lack of individual freedom to having their own sense of individuality. There have been many different events in America that has played some part in the evolution of the black race. After the Civil War, most of the races in America were seen to have separate freedom, but as the years progress African Americans were one of the many to stand up and obtain their individuality. In the process of obtaining individual freedomRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War1434 Words   |  6 PagesMany African-Americans faced huge struggles years after the civil war. Their journey for racial equality began during the Reconstruction Era. The Civil War gave slaves freedom, a new set of huge challenge s were put into play in the South. Under President Andrew Johnson, there were many new southern state legislatures that passed â€Å"black codes† to control most of the labor and behavior of the former slaves. Outrage in the North over these restrictive codes destroyed support for presidential reconstructionRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War1423 Words   |  6 PagesAfrican Americans were a very important addition to the American Civil War such as fighting and spying for both the north and the south sides. The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States between the North and South states. The war was from 1861-1865 and was because the South wanted to establish itself as a separate nation. The northern states were called the Union and the southern states were called the Confederate. Between the north and south states were the Border States, whichRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War1170 Words   |  5 PagesIn 1865, when the civil war ende d in America and slavery was abolished, the African American population in the South faced many challenges related to their new found freedom. Following the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, white supremacy resurfaced in the South (AE Television, 2015). Beginning in the early 1900s through 1970 there was a mass exodus of African American s from the South to the North in America. Although some African American s were known to have moved from the South as earlyRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War995 Words   |  4 Pagesbefore the Civil War, so it was a constant battle between African Americans and Whites. Antebellum time period focus on the differences between people in the south and the north. People who wanted slavery to continue, because it was profitable and people who wanted it to end. More simply, whites in the south did not want slavery to end, because it was a business that allowed them to make money off of other people s labor. While people in the north we re more open to allow African Americans have moreRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War Essay1319 Words   |  6 Pagesamong young African American men with little schooling. Radical changes in crime control and sentencing polices led to an unprecedented buildup of the United States prison population over the last thirty years. African Americans comprise a disproportionate percentage of the individuals imprisoned in State correctional institutions across the United States. . There are 5 main reasons as to why African Americans repeatedly go to prison. These reasons are racial discrimination, the war on drugs, trafficRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War2079 Words   |  9 PagesAfrican Americans in the Civil War Everyday, people wake up and take it for granted. Just the simple and small things in life, people don’t seem to really appreciate. They tend to be ungrateful for the things that have been basically given to them. Many people of today do not realize the severity of how hard it was to get to this point in history. African Americans have had to face very strenuous times in order to make this world a better place. African Americans faced difficult times during theRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Civil War Essay2121 Words   |  9 Pagesthe Civil War, dividing the North and the South over the issues of slavery. In the end of the Civil War, many individuals with every sense of positive intentions gave opportunities and support to freed slaves developing into beneficial members for the nation. The United States came together as a nation to solve the issues of slavery, freedom, and the reorganization problems particular to African Americans. It is seen throughout our history a ll efforts to solve these issues but sadly African AmericansRead MoreAfrican American Soldiers During The Civil War902 Words   |  4 PagesMcCurry English 10 10 April 2015 African American Soldiers African-Americans served in the Civil War on both the Union and Confederate sides. In the Union Army, over 179,000 African American men served in over 160 units. More served with both the Union and Confederate units. This includes both northern free African Americans and runaway slaves from the South who enlisted to fight. By 1865, the South allowed slaves to enlist, but very few actually did. During the Civil War, blacks were treated like trash

Budgeting and Performance Evaluation

Question: Discuss about the Budgeting and Performance Evaluation. Answer: Introduction Explanation regarding the presence of variances present in the company according to Part A has been presented in the report. The reason behind the variances and the steps that should be followed has been analysed in this part. The tools and methodology that can be used for prevention of variances have also been included in the report. Analysis of variance present in Teddy Bear Toy Company: Deviation in actual performance from expected or estimated the performance of an organisation in accordance with standards of the budget can be said as variance, the analysis of the same is variance analysis (Crawford, 2014). The reasons behind the difference between the budgeted expenses and income according to the standards and the actual figures are analysed through variance analysis. The company consists the above three variances. Sales volume variance is evaluated to measure the impact of the change in actual and budgeted sales quantity on the contribution or profit of the organisation. As in the present study, according to the available data, the budgeted units of sales are less than actual units and the same is the reason behind the existence of sales volume variance (DRURY, 2013). The contribution has also been affected due to the same reason. The second variance which is present is sales mix variance; the reason behind it is the proportion mix of product is not in accordance with the standards of the organisation. The proportion in the present case of retail and the wholesale department is deviating from the estimated figures due to which the sales mix variance has been observed by the management. Another variance which has been observed is flexible budget variance (Hobbs, 2012). It is a form of income statement which is prepared according to the level of ac tivity and the change in the particulars of it affect positively or negatively the profit of the organisation. The variable and fixed overheads of Teddy Bear Toy Company are not in accordance with the budgeted figures, and the same has affected the contribution to $ 155,44,820.00 The formulas relevant to above variances: Sales Volume Variance In the case of absorption costing: (Actual Unit Sold- Budgeted Units) X Standard Profit per unit. In the case of marginal costing: (Actual unit of sales- Budgeted Units of Sales) X Standard Unit of Contribution /unit (Hofstede and et.al., 2012). Sales Mix Variance In the case of standard costing: (Actual Unit Sold- Sales according to the standard mix) X Standard profit/unit. In the case of marginal costing: (Actual unit sold- Sale according to standard Mix) X Standard Contribution /unit (Horngren, 2009). Flexible Budget Variance (Actual amount of overhead) - (Estimated amount of overhead) Analysis of incentive plan of the company Incentive Plan can be said as a tool used by the management or the higher authorities for encouraging excellence performance and to observe the quality of work of employees. It is an additional amount paid to the employee in addition to their regular salary which can be cash as well as non-cash (in the form of gift or in-kind). The main advantage of incentive plan is then the employees get motivated at a large scale because they are going to receive an extra benefit or reward for the accomplishment of achieved goal. The advantage is availed on the basis of the increase in the level of productivity (Kaplan and Anderson, 2013.). It creates an environment of harmony as the level of productivity cannot be increased by one person and for achieving the goal work is done together by all the workers. Ease is provided in achieving the desired goal (Keyes, 2016). The disadvantage that a business man has to bear from incentive plan is, a lump sum bonus is an effective monitor which is based on a predetermined deadline which can make an employee resentful in case an another employee gets a bonus of higher amount than him (Shank and Churchill, 2010). If the bonus is given in non-cash form than possibility might be there that employees of the organisation are not interested in it. As a result, they might not perform according to the capability they are having (Marshall and et.al. 2011). The company is giving additional discount according to the alternative source chosen for purchasing the product. It should allow a discount on the basis of the amount of order rather than the source. The organisation can also develop a policy regarding giving reward in the form of non-cash incentive to the employees and can conduct a survey for recognising the choice of the reward of workers or should give one or two option regarding reward. Balanced Scorecard A system for measuring the performance which evaluated and represented the performance of particular strategic area of each department can be said Balanced Scorecard (Norreklit, 2010.). It includes evaluation of the cost of product and time-based measurement of the activity of the new product. The following measures are being suggested to Teddy Bear Toy Company: The objective of customer satisfaction should be accomplished by the management by providing the demanded product on time and without unusual failure. The improvisation should be done in internal procedures of the company to enhance the value of customer and shareholder. The four perspective of balanced scorecard i.e. internal business process, learning growth, customer and financial should be considered in an appropriate manner for achieving the predetermined objective. Recommendations Analysis of variances present in the Teddy Bear Toy Company is presented in the report. According to the analysis, it could be suggested that management can prevent variances with the application of incentive measures. Focus should be given on the capabilities of the entity so that the objective of increasing customer and shareholder value can be attained in an appropriate manner. The management can also use effective use of balanced scorecard for improving the quality of workers in order to achieve a higher level of quality. References Crawford, J.K., 2014. Project management maturity model. CRC Press. DRURY, C.M., 2013. Management and cost accounting. Springer. Hobbs, J.B., 2012. Volume-mix-price/Cost budget variance analysis: A proper approach. 39(4). Pp.905-913. Hofstede, G.H. ed., 2012. The game of budget control. Routledge. Horngren, C.T. 2009. Cost accounting: A managerial emphasis, 13/e. Pearson Education India. Kaplan, R. and Anderson, S.R. 2013. Time-driven activity-based costing: a simpler and more powerful path to higher profits. Harvard business press. Keyes, J. 2016. Implementing the IT balanced scorecard: Aligning IT with corporate strategy. CRC Press. Marshall, D.H. et.al. 2011. Cost Accounting. McGraw-Hill Irwin, Norreklit, H., 2010. The balance on the balanced scorecard a critical analysis of some of its assumptions. Management accounting research, 11(1). Pp.65-88. Shank, J.K. and Churchill, N.C., 2010. Variance analysis: A management-oriented approach. Pp.950-957.