As you may have seen in the news, state legislators and lobbyists are in the process of attempting to repeal the Common Core State Standards. The problem with this movement is that the reasoning of the opponents to the common core has little or no basis in fact. Case in point, the following was a quote by Ken Freeman with the Alliance for Citizen’s rights as quoted from the Alabama Political Reporter on Feb. 12th:
Freeman said that 13 years of public education and common core standards would transform children into liberals. Freeman told parents that their children, “Won’t want to know you. They won’t know any mother but mother earth. They will know no father but the fatherland, and they will know no God but government.”
These are scary words and enough to make any red-blooded American stand up and take notice. But are they true? Which standards is he talking about, exactly?
In an effort to address much of the misinformation out there concerning the Common Core, this post will attempt to lay out some of the rumors and claims about the Common Core and look at the facts of the matter.
Claim 1- Common Core was developed by the Federal Government and President Barak Obama in an effort to take over state control of education.
Facts- The standards themselves were created through a collaboration of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association with representatives from 48 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia. It was NOT created by the federal government and handed down from on high as a mandate to the states. In fact, it was created by states for states with state input.
Claim 2- The Federal government and President Obama created the Common Core Standards.
Facts- Again, the federal government and President Obama had nothing to do with the standards. The only connection the Common Core has to the federal government is that adopting the standards was one of the conditions laid out by the federal government for applying for the federal Race to the Top grants. The federal government looked at the standards that the states had created, saw that they had merit and rigor, and gave their symbolic approval for the new standards by including them as part of a way to win federal funding for schools.
Claim 3- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded the Common Core for the purpose of making money by marketing a new curriculum.
Facts- The Common Core was partially funded by a variety of private groups including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Hunt Institute, and other educational reform organizations. These organizations have given great sums of money to reform and improve a broken educational system rather than to make money from it. The textbook publishers and standardized test makers are making money by peddling their wares for the new standards, but this is no different from what they did with the old standards. In fact, because there are so many states sharing resources on websites, webinars, training sessions, and conferences, educators have more access to free tools and resources than they ever have in the past with traditional varied curricula.
Claim 4- The Common Core standards were created with the intent to brain-wash the minds of a young generation.
Facts- The Common Core standards were initially created through state collaboration by looking at three different areas. One of those areas was our higher-learning institutions. Those tasked with developing the new standards met with multiple college and universities and asked what incoming freshmen needed to know in order to avoid taking remedial classes in college. They then met with business and industry organizations and asked them what skills business and industry were looking for from young people entering the work place. The Common Core Standards teams also looked at the curriculum used by other nations who consistently beat the U.S. in educational benchmarks and achievements. Using a reverse-engineering model, the standards were developed from college and workplace down rather than from Kindergarten up. This ensured a consistent linear progression of skills learned and plugged the holes and gaps that were inherent in the old curriculum following the bottom-up approach. Also, the Common Core Standards are taught at all levels with the end result of keeping college or career-ready in sight.
Claim 5- States have no say in the standards of the Common Core
Facts- Representatives from 48 states contributed to the Common Core development. This means that Alabama had a voice in the initial development of the Common Core. Moreover, states may add standards they see as important to the students in their charge. While there are limits to how much can be added (up to 15%, which won’t be covered on national tests) States do have some discretion on what they wish to add to the overall standards. Alabama has included 2.5% additional materials for English Language Arts and 14% for Math. While critics point to these numbers as proof that Alabama doesn’t have much say on what is taught, I would argue that this is a testament to how solid these standards are in the first place. Keep in mind that the Common Core Standards at present only cover Math and English/Language Arts. The English/Language Arts standards include literacy standards that apply to Science and Social Studies, but how is a focus on teaching students to read and communicate in all subject areas a bad thing? Alabama History is still part of the 4th grade curriculum and isn’t going anywhere; nor are the Arts or other subjects we in Alabama hold dear.
Claim 6- Alabama was just fine without the common core. We don’t need them.
Facts- Alabama has made some progress in education over the last few years, but we still have a long way to go. Alabama's education system ranks 34th in the nation in student performance and progress according to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This council ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia on their K-12 performance using data from national test scores, state education policy, charter school regulation, and other benchmarks to determine where each state stands. Alabama’s ranking based on high school graduation rates still hovers around 45 out of the 50 states. Add to these mediocre statistics the fact that our students aren’t simply competing with kids in Nebraska or Vermont but rather with students in India and China, and one can’t help but see the importance of increasing the rigor and relevance of our educational system.
Claim 7- Common Core creates a federal government database that will follow your children from kindergarten to retirement
Facts- The Common Core Standards don’t have any standards requiring the tracking of students from birth to grave. We already have two federal entities that do that. They are called the Social Security Administration and the IRS. I am not sure how educational standards developed collaboratively by the states were somehow accused of fulfilling this role, unless critics are talking about the gathering of standardized testing data, which could be tracked before Common Core ever entered the picture.
Claim 8- Common Core dumbs down education.
Facts- This is the easiest claim to refute and is one that couldn’t be further from the truth. Simply put the Common Core standards next to our traditional course of study and see for yourself. Because Common Core standards were designed in part to compete with the rigorous standards of other countries, the intensity and focus on mastery of concepts has greatly increased. Our traditional standards could be described as “a mile wide and an inch deep”. While the new standards don’t cover as many practices and concepts in some grade levels, they are much more in-depth and focus on theory as well as practice (see the blog post entitled “Why can’t 2+2 just equal four?”). The reverse-engineering of the standards from college and business backwards has also ensured a more strenuous set of standards than what we have had in the past.
Claim 9- states will lose rights and parents and students will be trapped in that curriculum since there will not be competition
Facts- States can choose to opt in or choose to opt out of the Common Core. It is a state decision. In fact, choosing to opt out of the Common Core is what the critics are clamouring for right now. Critics often point to the ideal that education should be based on local, and to a lesser extent, state control. While I personally agree with that concept in principal, I have been in education long enough to see that funding drives education. Those that wish to break off all ties with the federal government and to lessen the shackles of state control must be willing to find alternative local funding to cover the deficit left in moving away from those entities. In the meantime, local school boards and central office personnel will still perform their duties with the same level of autonomy as they have done over the past few years despite the shift to Common Core standards. Personnel will be hired, textbooks will be adopted, and capital improvement plans will be made. An increase in academic intensity and student achievement will not negatively affect these operations.
Claim 10- The Common Core will cost millions of dollars we don’t have
Facts- This was partially addressed in the last claim. Changing to the Common Core will cost money. It has cost money. But it is money well-spent on ensuring our students are college and career-ready and able to compete in a global economy. Between sequester, proration, and the recession, schools have been hit hard financially. However difficulties in funding shouldn’t be an excuse to prevent our children from being challenged to achieve all that is within their potential.
The Common Core isn’t perfect, but it has solid standards backed by valid research and incorporates many best practices into instruction. Debate and discussion are healthy in protecting the interests of our children. However, it is important to put emotionalism aside and look at the facts of the issues if a beneficial discussion on the education of our students is to take place.
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