As he prepares a decision about his 2016 plans, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will deliver a speech in New Jersey today, announcing his opposition to Common Core.
“It’s now been five years since Common Core was adopted,” he plans to say, according to excerpts of his speech released to reporters. “And the truth is that it’s simply not working.”
Christie will announce his plan to take New Jersey out of the Common Core education standards, and focus instead on a local approach.
Christie signed on to Common Core education standards in 2010.
In 2013, Christie defended the idea criticizing Republicans for having a “knee-jerk reaction” to Common Core simply because President Obama liked it.
“We are doing Common Core in New Jersey and we’re going to continue,” Christie said at the time. “And this is one of those areas where I have agreed more with the President than not.”
As early as 2014, however, he began to distance himself from his earlier approach.
Last December, Christie admitted that he had “real concerns” about Common Core during an interview with local TV.
At CPAC in February, Christie acknowledged during an interview with Laura Ingraham that he regretted his decision.
During today’s speech, Christie plans to criticize the federal educational standards for bringing “confusion and frustration” to both parents and teachers.
“Instead of solving problems in our classrooms, it is creating new ones,” he will say. “And when we aren’t getting the job done for our children, we need to do something different.”
Christie will now task the Director of Education in New Jersey to review and develop new educational standards that are focused on New Jersey needs.
“I have heard far too many people – teachers and parents from across the state – that the Common Core standards were not developed by New Jersey educators and parents. As a result, the buy in from both communities has not been what we need for maximum achievements,” he said.