If one of the reasons for the declining scores on the Maryland
School Assessment tests is that teachers are already adjusting
their teaching to the new Common Core, and thus are not covering
all of the content that was covered on these older tests, then I
would have to question the development of the old tests, any new
tests, and the Common Core in general ("State's test scores
decline," July 24).  Take math, for example. You can't cover all
of the math content in a year-long course in one final test;
therefore, you need "experts" to design tests that reflect the
essential material in a given math course. If this material was
deemed essential in math a few years ago, then wouldn't it still
be essential in the Common Core? If the Common Core is somehow
better, then wouldn't it somehow be presenting the essential
content better?  Paul Leroy