What you Should Know About the Common Core Curriculum
Dr. Wendy Ghiora-Posting
#121-February 8, 2014
1.
Common Core is an educational curriculum being
forced upon the states by the Obama administration, which is scheduled to be
mostly implemented this year in the 46 states that have adopted it.
2.
Common Core 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.
3.
The
American Principles Project released an analysis last year of Common Core,
exposing the duplicitous language. Common Core describes itself as
"internationally benchmarked," "robust," "aligned with
college and work expectations," "rigorous," and
"evidence-based." None of this is true.
4.
Diane Ravitch, a former assistant U.S. secretary
of education who was appointed to office by both Clinton and George H.W. Bush,
recently changed her mind about Common Core. Ravitch now refutes claims by
Obama and Common Core that the standards were created by the states and
voluntarily adopted by them. She writes in The Washington Post, "They were
developed by an organization called Achieve and the National Governors Association,
both of which were generously funded by the Gates Foundation. There was minimal
public engagement in the development of the Common Core. Their creation was
neither grassroots nor did it emanate from the states." Instead, Common
Core is being driven by policymakers in D.C.
5.
There is no evidence that the curriculum works,
and it will destroy innovation amongst the states. Ravitch writes, "We are
a nation of guinea pigs, almost all trying an unknown new program at the same
time...Would the Federal Drug Administration approve the use of a drug with no
trials, no concern for possible harm or unintended consequences?" Jane
Robbins, a senior fellow for the American Principles Project, writes, "Common
Core has never been piloted. How can anyone say it is good for kids when it's
not in place anywhere?" In fact, the results are coming in and they are
the opposite. A principal in the Midwest told Ravitch that "his school
piloted the Common Core assessments and the failure rate rocketed upwards,
especially among the students with the highest needs."
6.
Many of the creators of the Common Core
standards have now taken jobs with testing companies which stand to make
millions of dollars developing tests based on the standards they created.
7.
If a state or local school district is making
great advances lately in English and math, why change a good thing? States and
localities should be allowed to innovate and figure out what works best for
their students. When Florida adopted the most favorable climate for charter
schools in the country, allowing for innovation from school to school, student
test scores increased dramatically. Education policy expert Matthew Ladner, who
studied the effects of the legislation in Florida for the Goldwater Institute,
concluded, "In 1999, when these reforms were enacted, nearly half of
Florida fourth-graders scored 'below basic' on the NAEP reading test, meaning
that they could not read at a basic level. But by 2007, less than a decade
after the education reforms took effect, 70 percent of Florida's fourth-graders
scored basic or above. Florida's Hispanic students now have the second-highest
statewide reading scores in the nation, and African-Americans score
fourth-highest, when compared with their peers."
8.
Six states have dropped out or are considering
dropping out of Common Core. Nebraska has dropped out, and is conducting a
study to compare its own educational standards to Common Core's. Common Core
amasses large amounts of personal information about students. Michelle Malkin
cites research by Joy Pullmann of the Heartland Institute, who discovered a
report by the Department of Education revealing that Common Core's data mining
includes "using cameras to judge facial expressions, an electronic seat
that judges posture, a pressure-sensitive computer mouse and a biometric wrap
on kids' wrists."
9.
The Kansas House Committee is currently
considering a bill to withdraw. Last week, the Oklahoma House passed House Bill
1989, which would prohibit the sharing of minors' school records without
parental consent. Michelle Malkin notes that you can download a Common Core
opt-out form to submit to your school district, courtesy of the group Truth in
American Education.
Here are my specific
questions and answers:
1.
Are the “Common Core Standards” different from
any previous educational reform movement?
My answer, “Of course not.” Just Google “Educational Reform,” in any
previous decade and you will find the exact same “ideas” and rhetoric as we
have with Common Core Standards.
2.
Why is this being done?
My answer, “Follow the money trail. That
usually gets to the source.” (Number 6 above, is only scratching the service of
who will be raking in the money on this one).
3.
As a parent, should I get an “opt-out form,” as
recommended in #7?
My answer, “If I had a child in public
school right now, I definitely would.”
4.
If I don’t like the Common Core Standards
Policy, is there anything I can do about it?
My answer, “Read about it. Educate yourself
by reading both sides of the issue. If
you still think it is an absurdly gargantuan waste of time and your tax
dollars, write to your State Department of Education. Let the State Superintendent
of Education know that you do not want your child subjected to the Common Core Curriculum.
