Washington State Legislature Should Vote Against Adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
December 28, 2010
Common Core Standards of education for all the states currently being pushed by this presidential administration is not the magic solution it claims to be.
The standards are being developed by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) which are not accountable to citizens of the respective states. The standards could also potentially be altered without appropriate input from the citizens of the various states. The two organizations are, in effect, writing federal learning standards even though they are calling them “Common Core Standards.” This runs counter to the concept that education should be a local function. Our organization, CURE, maintains that local communities are the most appropriate parties to set standards for and assess the educational needs of the children in their communities.
Adopting the Common Core Standards was one of the main points of President Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative, and some states abandoned higher quality learning standards and adopted the Common Core Standards so that they could be considered for Race to the Top grants. Sadly, not all of them received grants, but their state standards are now lower.
The Washington State organization “Where’s the Math” analyzed the math standards in the Common Core Standards, and are recommending that our Superintendent of Public Instruction not adopt them. Read their analysis.
Tags: Common Core State Standards, Race to the Top, federal, standards
Common Core Standards of education for all the states currently being pushed by this presidential administration is not the magic solution it claims to be.
The standards are being developed by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) which are not accountable to citizens of the respective states. The standards could also potentially be altered without appropriate input from the citizens of the various states. The two organizations are, in effect, writing federal learning standards even though they are calling them “Common Core Standards.” This runs counter to the concept that education should be a local function. Our organization, CURE, maintains that local communities are the most appropriate parties to set standards for and assess the educational needs of the children in their communities.
Adopting the Common Core Standards was one of the main points of President Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative, and some states abandoned higher quality learning standards and adopted the Common Core Standards so that they could be considered for Race to the Top grants. Sadly, not all of them received grants, but their state standards are now lower.
The Washington State organization “Where’s the Math” analyzed the math standards in the Common Core Standards, and are recommending that our Superintendent of Public Instruction not adopt them. Read their analysis.
Tags: Common Core State Standards, Race to the Top, federal, standards