Editor’s Introduction:
This year, in a major shift in public education, states across the nation have been implementing a new set of standards known as the Common Core. Common Core appears as a subject in national and local news media and is a constant subject of debate, particularly in conservative circles.
Despite all this attention, Common Core still remains a confusing topic for many people. In this three-part series MarylandReporter.com answers some basic questions about Common Core.
Common Questions on Common Core Part 1: About the New School Standards focuses on Common Core itself and how it was developed.
Common Questions on Common Core Part 2: New requirements and Tests in Md. looks at what the new standards mean for Maryland public school systems and their limited options in implementing them.
Common Questions on Common Core Part 3: How It’s Working In Md., What It Costs looks at how the standards are working in Maryland and what they will cost.
The series was edited by associate editor Meg Tully and Part 1 was written by Margaret Sessa-Hawkins.
The article confirms assertions that special interest groups created the standards, NOT teachers or local boards.
Common Core was created by a coalition of groups; the three most prominent are the National Governors Association for Best Practices (NGA Center), a research and development organization specializing in public policy concerns facing the nations’ governors; the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), a nonprofit group made up of top state education officials; and Achieve, a nonprofit group which advocates for “college and career ready” standards in education. The actual architect of the majority of the standards is widely acknowledged to be David Coleman, who has since become head of the College Board.
The article also confirms that it is illegal for the federal government to “create, fund or mandate a national curriculum”!!!! Therefore it should be strictly optional.
It is against federal law for the U.S. government to either create, fund or mandate a national curriculum (see above). While the CCSS does detail what English and math skills every student needs to know at the end of each grade, there is no mandate as to how these standards should be taught. Therefore, argues the CCSS website, Common Core is not an official curriculum.
It also confirms that Common Core was never tested.
The short answer: It wasn’t tested.
Related: Who Wrote the Common Core Standards? Here is a List – See how many teachers really had input into these ‘standards’.