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Release of Common Core Test Questions Proves Commissioner King's Support for Educators

In the hard work of implementing higher standards for students, Commissioner King and the New York State Education Department have gone to great lengths to hear and incorporate teacher and parent feedback. With today's release, they've thoughtfully balanced the urgency of raising the bar for kids with providing teachers and parents with the necessary tools.

With the release of 50% of this year's assessment questions, they've proven once again their commitment to supporting New York educators as they rise to the challenge of the Common Core. The released test questions reflect a new level of depth and rigor, demonstrating how far New York has come in putting the academic interests of students first. We hope teachers and administrators will use this wealth of data to target the specific needs of students and improve the overall quality of instruction.

NYSED has released 100% more assessment sample questions than were released last year. They can accessed here.

Sample test question comparisons are below. These examples show that students had to solve math problems that included more than one step and could not be determined by one, simple calculation and had to demonstrate a deeper analytical understanding of ELA passages.

Grade 4 Math (2010)

Grade 4 Math (2014)

Grade 8 ELA (2010)

Grade 8 ELA (2014)