New York State was the second-to-last State to start the so-called Common Core Curriculum, but seems now in a mad rush to implement it. New York State Commissioner of the Department of Education, John B. King, seems adamant to impose Common Core although the New York State Parents-Teachers Association asks for a year moratorium to implement. What is Common Core Curriculum and what’s the rush?
Common Core State Standards Initiative is an education initiative that details what students should know in English and math at the end of each grade. The initiative seeks to establish consistent education standards across the states as well as ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter two or four year college programs or enter the workforce. As part of education reform movements in the 1990’s, the nation’s governors and corporate leaders founded Achieve, Inc., to raise academic standards, graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability in all 50 states. The initial motivation for the development of the Common Core State Standards was part of the American Diploma Project (ADP). In 2009 the National Governors Association convened a group of educators to work on developing the standards with the hope that their initiative would improve U.S. students’ lagging readiness to compete in a changing global economy and market.
Input in the creation of Common Core came from a variety of sources, including teachers, administrators and members of the business community.The rush to implement Common Core seems to come from the states’ desire to get a piece of the federal money available through Race to the Top grants. To be eligible for these grants, states have to adopt "internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the work place." The competition for these grants provided a major push for states to adopt the standards.
Proponents boast that the Common Core standards allow for a uniform system of national education relying on verifiable progress indicators and curriculum suggestions that are relevant to entering the workplace in a practical competitive way comparable with the expectations of other high performing countries around the world. Nevertheless, criticisms are legion and come from disparate corners of the political and social scene. Complaints include:
1. The Common Core standards rely inordinately heavily on tests, many which have not been field-tested. Parents feel this unnecessarily adds to the student’s stress.
2. Conservatives complain that Common Core is an educational curriculum being forced upon the states by the Obama administration, and that it eliminates local control over K-12 curriculum in math and English, instead imposing a one-size-fits-all, top-down curriculum that will also apply to private schools and homeschoolers. They oppose this Federalization of local schools.
3. Opponents claim that there is no evidence that the curriculum works, and it will destroy innovation amongst the states. Common Core has never been piloted.
4. There is opposition to content claimed to be part of the Common Core standards. Detractors claim the curriculum replaces the classics with government propaganda and de-emphasize the study of classic literature in favor of reading so-called “informational texts,” such as government documents, court opinions, and technical manuals. There is also opposition to philosophical and political bias to the content of some suggested reading materials.
5. The math standards is assailed. For example, Algebra 1 would be taught in 9th grade, not 8th grade for many students, making calculus inaccessible to them in high school. The quality of the standards is low and not internationally benchmarked.
6. Advocates for special-needs students believe that Common Core ignores this constituency.
7. The program requires the assembling of student data that might be considered to breach privacy concerns.
Proponents of Common Core refute the criticisms. They maintain that while the Standards focus on what is most essential, they do not describe all that can or should be taught. A great deal is left to the discretion of teachers and curriculum developers. The aim of the Standards is to articulate the fundamentals, not to set out an exhaustive list or a set of restrictions that limits what can be taught beyond what is specified herein. They deny that the federal government created common core. Despite the spirited debate and frequent criticism of style, content and pitch of the Common Core program, state spokesmen for their departments have not been particularly receptive to the public’s good faith questions. New York Education Commissioner John King, seems adamant to impose Common Core although the New York State Parents-Teachers Association asks for a year moratorium to implement. King is heckled and shouted down everywhere he goes, but remains inflexible. Meanwhile, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan wisecracks “It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who all of a sudden their child is not as brilliant as they though they were.” His snide comments seem to presume men, minorities and urban or rural dwellers do not have an opinion! Top spokesmen for the programs implementation have done little to sell the notion or allay fears that Common Core is government overreach. Ironically, proponents say Common Core encourages “critical thinking.”
Presuming that New York State will not opt-out of Common Core (as it is able to do) there are still options for the parent of the students. A parent dissatisfied with exactly how something is taught should seek a conversation with the teacher, administrator and, if necessary, state officials. State Senator Steve Flanagan has already proposed recommendations to temper Common Core, such as eliminating standardized testing for children between pre-K and second grade, evaluating the timing, testing and value of Common Core and creating a “Parent’s Bill of Rights."
A parent armed with knowledge does not have to allow the teacher or government bureaucrat to blame the curriculum issue on Common Core. Someone who does so is brushing off their responsibility to an inanimate object rather than accepting responsibility for the selection of curriculum and teaching methods. Hold your school board members, your administrators and your teachers accountable for what is taught in the classroom, as the Common Core documentation claims to specifically provide for flexibility for each teacher.
I suppose something is needed, as our public schools are too expensive to run and typically underachieve, but I do not believe that Common Core is the answer.
