Stay the Course

Implementation of higher standards to promote college and career readiness cannot happen overnight. The successful implementation process requires time, patience, and open dialogue within states. We’ve all heard that some states are reconsidering their adoption of the Common Core State Standards; but if they stay the course, the end result will be a student body that is far more prepared for success in college and careers.

By killing Common Core, lawmakers would be failing N.C. children

By the Editorial Board, Star News Online

June 7, 2014

“You can't have it both ways. You can't decry a lack of rigorous standards for students, and then dismantle the very mechanism that was designed to raise those standards without even giving it a chance to work. Yet that is exactly what the Honorables are doing.

“What's really wrong with public education in North Carolina? Politicians – in this case, politicians who are so opposed to the idea of a national standard that they would allow the state's schoolchildren to sink rather than give the brand-new Common Core standards a fair shot.

“This past week the N.C. House hastily approved House Bill 1061, which would throw out the entire program and replace it with … To Be Announced. Oh, there will be high standards, we are assured. Trust them. Those standards will be among the highest in the nation. Really.

“Except that we won't really have a good way to know, because we'll be doing our own thing while other states take the Common Core, work out the kinks – and there is much room for improvement – and run with it. Meanwhile, we'll be back at the drawing board going through a new process mandated by the General Assembly that also would wrest control over academic standards from the Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education.

And,

“We can fix what's broken, and a good program is always evolving. It also takes time to get used to anything new. The same fears being expressed now will also materialize if North Carolina changes course yet again on education.

“The Senate should stop the House's folly from doing more damage, and listen to the people who have been complaining that they can't find enough qualified workers in part because our students are not as prepared as they should be for the modern job market.

“The N.C. Chamber, which represents business interests, opposes repealing the Common Core because of the uncertainty such a rash move would create. A news release the Chamber sent out Wednesday makes a cautionary point: ‘House Bill 1061 sends a signal to job creators in North Carolina and every state in the country that North Carolina is not ready to compete.’ It called the bill ‘a step backward.’

“And it is.”

Oregon schools needn't hit the Common Core panic button quite yet

By the Editorial Board, The Oregonian Editorial Board

May 29, 2014

“Politics aside, Oregon should keep pushing ahead on this initiative, knowing that the state can always adapt as problems arise. That's a better approach than retreating altogether – and falling further behind academically – over fears of what might happen.

“In 2010, the Oregon State Board of Education adopted Common Core State Standards, a voluntary set of academic standards developed by the National Governors Association with exhaustive input from teachers and state school chiefs. More than 40 other states did the same. The goal was to create an overarching consensus around the "core" concepts and skills that every student should gain at certain grades, while still leaving the curriculum and testing up to states.

“This move drew broad support from Oregon teachers and school leaders, and for good reason: The new standards emphasize critical thinking and problem-solving, and they're better designed to prepare students for college than the state's old standards.

“Teachers remain supportive of these Common Core standards, says OEA president Hanna Vaandering, who also serves on Gov. John Kitzhaber's Oregon Education Investment Board. However, the OEA has concerns about Oregon's chosen standardized test, known as "Smarter Balanced," developed for a multistate consortium to align with Common Core standards. This month, the OEA urged the state to cancel state reading and math tests in spring 2015, calling them unproven and too hard.

And,

“Either way, Oregon can't use political polarization or testing uncertainty as an excuse to switch off the light and hide schools' struggles from view. Not when Oregon has the nation's second-worst graduation rate. Not when this state consistently struggles to offer a quality education to students of all backgrounds.

“Instead, Oregon should use the 2014-15 school year to beef up professional development and build on what's working with Common Core. That's a more productive approach than concluding: too hard, can't be done, maybe next year.”

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Achieve has developed materials to help states, districts, and others understand the organization and content of the standards and the content and evidence base used to support the standards. Visit www.achieve.org/achieving-common-core.