Committee recommends replacing Common Core
Published April 25, 2014
by Jane Stancill, News and Observer, April 24, 2014.
A state legislative commission proposed Thursday that North Carolina drop the Common Core and replace it with a new set of learning standards for public schools.
A draft bill replaces the Common Core State Standards in reading and math with new education benchmarks to be created by the State Board of Education, in consultation with a new Academic Standards Review Commission, made up of political appointees. The bill is expected to come up in the legislative session that begins in May.
Republican lawmakers said the bill is not merely a renaming of the standards but a removal of the Common Core, to be replaced with standards that “meet North Carolina’s needs.” If it passes the legislature, the Common Core could be history by July, though it likely would have to remain in place until new standards are finalized.
“This bill puts education back where the Constitution says it belongs – in the hands of North Carolina,” said Sen. Jerry Tillman, an Archdale Republican.
Several Democrats voted against dropping Common Core. Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Matthews Democrat, called the whole affair “political theater” that does a disservice to children and teachers.
The state has spent several years and millions of dollars to train teachers and implement the new standards, which hit classrooms in fall 2012. And while that process has been problematic, Cotham said, dumping Common Core now “will create classroom chaos.”
She said a commission of political appointees should not be dictating North Carolina’s classroom standards. “That is scary,” she said, “because that is politicizing curriculum and school standards.”
More critical thinking
Adopted by 45 states, the Common Core sets out consistent learning standards in reading and math aimed at better preparation for college and careers. Developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association, the standards are fewer but deeper and attempt to promote more critical thinking and problem solving.
The standards caused little controversy when first introduced. Some of the current opponents originally sponsored bills in North Carolina that ushered in the standards. For example, Tillman was a primary sponsor on bills in 2011 and 2012 that called for teacher preparation and test development related to the Common Core.
More recently, though, a national fight erupted over the Common Core, with critics suggesting it was a federal overreach because the U.S. Department of Education offered incentives for states to adopt the standards in the Race to the Top grant competition. Critics also confused the standards with curriculum.
The Common Core has been a target primarily of the tea party wing of the Republican Party. But the new standards have also been criticized by some on the left, who worry about education decisions being driven by corporate interests, foundations and philanthropists such as Bill Gates. Some states are moving to abandon or rename the standards or bow out of consortia that are developing new tests.
Perhaps the biggest critic in North Carolina has been Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who said Thursday was a great day for education in North Carolina.
“The General Assembly listened to the voices of thousands of parents, teachers, administrators and concerned citizens about the issues with Common Core. ... This legislative action allows North Carolina to develop its own rigorous standards, created by its own teachers, school administrators, business leaders and parents,” Forest said in a statement.
One of the voices was in the audience Thursday as the commission voted. “The federal overreach is the biggest problem,” said Kim Fink, a member of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association in New Bern. “I do not think there should be national standards at all.”
Core support
There also are supporters all along the political spectrum. One of the biggest proponents is Republican former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. In North Carolina, the Common Core is backed by business leaders and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who has said consistent, rigorous education standards are key to a competitive business climate.
“Governor McCrory is a strong supporter of high standards,” Eric Guckian, McCrory’s senior education adviser, said in a statement Thursday. “He is working every day toward a singular goal, and that is to ensure that every student and every citizen of North Carolina, has the skills they need to get and keep a real world job. High standards and high expectations are the table stakes for that goal. We welcome the opportunity to improve upon these standards, but any attempt to lower them is not an acceptable option.”
The North Carolina Chamber issued a statement saying Thursday’s decision was a step backward “for our manufacturing floors to the research labs and garages where the next big ideas are being born.”
Lew Ebert, president and CEO of the chamber, said, “Speaking on behalf of job creators, I can say with good authority that North Carolina’s current standards are, in fact, a positive step toward preparing today’s students for the jobs of tomorrow. Ultimately the decision we are making is whether we want to grow our talent locally or hire it from out of state. North Carolina employers would prefer to hire locally.”
State school Superintendent June Atkinson said North Carolina should act cautiously before making changes to its standards. “The stakes – the competitive future of our young people and our state – are very high,” she said in a statement.
Atkinson said she welcomes regular reviews of standards.
But she added, “I believe North Carolina needs to continue its five-year cycle for maintaining standards so that teachers have stability in their lesson planning and classroom operations.”
Earlier this year, superintendents of North Carolina’s 10 largest districts, including Wake County, wrote in a position paper that they wanted “assurance that North Carolina is committed to CCSS (Common Core State Standards) and that there will not be another change in standards for at least seven years.”
Teacher support
Rodney Ellis, president of the N.C. Association of Educators, said the arguments about Common Core have been largely based on the myth that the standards force a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching or content. He said 77 percent of the association’s members support the standards.
“Teachers have had some frustrations too, but this does not mean we should throw everything out and start over,” Ellis wrote in an opinion column circulated to media.
The draft legislation presented Thursday would call for the new standards commission to begin meeting no later than Sept. 1 and finish its work by the end of 2015. The commission would be made up of 17 members, including the lieutenant governor, the state superintendent, a Senate and House member and appointees that can include parents, teachers and curriculum experts. The governor and State Board of Education would also appoint members.
The draft bill says the commission would make recommendations for changes to standards and tests aligned to them, considering “the impact on teachers, including the need for professional development.” The panel’s recommendations would go to the State Board of Education for consideration or adoption, but lawmakers stressed Thursday that the legislature could supersede any action the State Board undertakes.
An amendment approved Thursday would fast track the effort, so the commission could suggest immediate changes to Common Core before another set of standards is adopted.
April 25, 2014 at 9:03 am
Richard Bunce says:
The problem is not the government school assessment tools but the government school assessment process. Until an organization independent of the government school systems is in charge of the assessment of the government school systems we will continue to not get an honest assessment of the government school system performance. Government school system bureaucrats, administrators, teachers are incapable of assessing themselves and instead produce nonsense such as teaching to the test and even outright cheating on the test.
April 25, 2014 at 7:46 pm
Norm Kellly says:
Why is it that so many seem to assume that if we throw out Common Core, we will be taking a step backwards?
While Common Core is a set of guidelines and not the curriculum it seems that in too many places it HAS BECOME the curriculum. It seems that too many schools have decided that there's only 1 way to teach ANY concept. I've read some of the 'essay' questions online that have been given to elementary and middle school aged kids. They are absurd, to be kind.
While Common Core might be just guidelines, but the way it's been implemented shows that this is not ALL it is. The way that math addition and subtraction is now being taught because of CC is, to be kind, stupid. The process makes no sense. And before anyone asks, yes, I have seen the process demonstrated. And I've known of kids who have been 'corrected' for not doing it the accepted way, even when the answer is correct and the work is shown. I say 'corrected' because no points were deducted, but the child was spoken to about the proper way to arrive at the answer. Math is much easier to judge than say an English/language arts project, because there really is only 1 way to add 2 and 2. There is only 1 way to arrive at the correct answer when you have to carry the one doing something like 29 plus 14. Carrying the one is a simple process. Until you are shown the new common core, stupid is as stupid does, process. Wish I could explain it here, but it made no sense to me when demonstrated, so have forgotten how it was done. No sense to learn a new way when it's harder to grasp than the old way, takes longer to do, and has a good chance of producing the wrong answer.
Our great state should look at developing standards for OUR students. This DOES NOT mean, as CC supporters suggest, that our standards would have to be lower. But they could be different. Different such that the end result of an education kid happens, but the specific, detailed way to get there is open to interpretation so that it can fit every kid. Cuz, even though kids are common in that they are kids and need to learn, they are not common in the WAY they learn. Does CC allow for differences? Not in what's been demonstrated so far. And this is the major flaw with CC. No flexibility. NC MUST look out for OUR kids; prepare OUR kids for the future. We MUST care if California or Wyoming gets there a different way, unless that way makes sense for OUR kids. Contrary to the 'thought process' (i know, but what else could i call it?) of the current White House occupier, the Constitution really does allow for 50 experiments around the country so the best solution can be found and implemented. Not the solution liked best by the central planners.
