Common Core - Page 16

The highly acclaimed school standards called Common Core are becoming so unpopular that they may soon be politically untouchable. The critics are piling on from Glenn Beck to the Wall Street Journal, with senior academics and activist parents in between.

Though Indiana withdrew from its multi-state Common Core testing group a year ago, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is still listing the state as a member, a fact that adds to the perception of

DALLAS, Texas — No sooner did the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announce record-breaking on-time high school graduation rates of 88 percent for the Class of 2013 did the criticism of those results begin, prompting the agency to put out a

A group of parents and citizens called Concerned Citizens of Southern New Jersey is saying “No More Common Core” to its elected officials this fall. The grassroots group is sponsoring a symposium on Saturday, September 27, featuring speakers Drs. Sandra

DALLAS, Texas — Advanced Placement has been the gold standard of accelerated academic achievement, bringing first year college level work to the best and brightest on a high school level. Its end-of-course exam has translated into transferrable college credits for many.

A new, unprecedented bill passed by California’s State Senate on Thursday will encourage public schools to teach students about the historical significance surrounding Barack Obama’s status as the first African-American president of the United States of America.  Assembly Bill 1921 passed with

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s (R) office announced Wednesday that it had filed an amended petition that argues the state’s agreement with the PARCC Common Core test consortium is in violation of federal law because it attempts to federalize education curriculum

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) indicated Wednesday that his state will withdraw from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) that is developing tests aligned with the Common Core standards. According to Shane Vander Hart at Caffeinated Thoughts, a tweet from

In an op-ed at the Wall Street Journal, Marina Ratner, renowned professor emerita of mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, explains why the Common Core standards will make math education even worse in the United States and move

Political commentator and author Michelle Malkin sharply criticized Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) for his attempts to paint himself as an opponent of amnesty and Common Core.  “Of course, [Alexander] is one of the biggest double-talking weasels and beltway barnacles out

The Guardian observes that the Common Core standards have dramatically turned into “political poison.” Nicky Woolf writes that the controversial nationalized standards which “at first seemed so harmless” have become a “hot potato” for politicians. “Harmless,” however, means that the

Louisiana U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R), also a 2015 gubernatorial candidate, came out this week in strong support of the Common Core standards.  His remarks praising the controversial initiative, however, have drawn responses suggesting he either lacks knowledge about the

Ardent Common Core supporter Mike Petrilli, who, as of August 1, is the new president of the Fordham Institute, wrote in a piece on the organization’s website that though “there’s little doubt that in the ‘air war’ over the Common

The members of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) recently convened for a week of general meetings and committees in Austin. Proclamation 2016, which is the SBOE’s invitation to submit bids for Texas Education Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) aligned instructional

Despite Common Core champion Bill Gates funneling millions of dollars from his foundation to powerhouses like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the two largest teachers unions in the country, and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Politico says it’s “the moms”

On Tuesday, the administration of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) filed a lawsuit to invalidate the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Common Core consortium PARCC on the basis that the MOU attempts to improperly delegate the constitutional authority of the

States and local school districts can develop their own non-Common Core standards by following the steps below: 1. Vote for Chair of Steering Committee: The Steering Committee in charge of the project (i.e., in charge of the two standards development

Ohio House Republican leaders introduced a bill Monday to repeal the controversial Common Core standards that will be implemented in the state’s schools next month. House leaders will fast-track the bill by sending it to a committee chaired by Speaker

A pro-Common Core black education group is funding a group of parents and teachers in a lawsuit against Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), charging that he is illegally trying to remove the state from the controversial nationalized standards and their

DALLAS, Texas–Finding common ground on Common Core is a task usually coveted by cavalier progressive left and establishment right ideologues whose education reformer remedies include overlooking imperfections, re-branding, and calling the implementation of the Common Core “botched.” However, there are conservative

Lawmakers in Louisiana filed a lawsuit Monday in Baton Rouge district court that seeks an immediate suspension of the Common Core standards in the state’s schools. According to the Associated Press, the 17 legislators – 13 Republicans and 2 Democrats

Writing at Slate, David Weigel notes that, “in a very short time, opposition to Common Core has evolved from a fringe Republican position that blue-staters laugh at to a position that clearly wins out in blue New York.” Ultimately, Weigel

1. Focus of Accountability: Schools or Teachers Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), schools and school districts were held accountable based on student scores. Under Common Core/Race to the Top (CC/RttT), teachers are to be held accountable based on varying

As more governors enact legislation to remove their states from the controversial Common Core standards, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) said Thursday he will ask his state’s attorney general to reexamine Utah’s adoption of them in 2010, including any federal

A Wednesday evening meeting which was meant to address a controversial eight-grade school assignment regarding the validity of the Holocaust was called an “epic fail” by a school board member and has a local assemblywoman calling for the “reeducating” of

DALLAS, Texas–National Review commentator Stanley Kurtz put Texas “at the forefront of the resistance” in fighting the new Common Core aligned AP US History (APUSH). Now all eyes are on Texas to lead the way out of APUSH in a state that didn’t

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) called on state lawmakers Thursday to pass a bill in January that would repeal the Common Core standards and replace them with “standards set by people in Wisconsin.” According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Walker

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) issued a statement Wednesday that he will sign a bill passed by his state’s legislature to review and replace the Common Core standards. As wral.com reports, grassroots groups of parents have pressed North Carolina

Grassroots parent groups that oppose the Common Core standards are blasting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) for issuing an executive order Monday that creates a handpicked study commission to make recommendations by 2015 on the effectiveness of the assessments

As the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush (R) was known for improving his state’s public schools. Now, however, his ardent support for the Common Core standards has stoked the wrath of grassroots groups of constitutional conservatives and led to a

In a case that has drawn attention to the level of power attained by largely unelected state boards of education over the elected representatives of the people in a state legislature, the Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld Tuesday the state’s repeal

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) has signed legislation that provides for a task force to write new education standards that will eventually replace the Common Core in his state. Nixon’s office announced his approval of the measure Monday, the last

Both Republican and Democratic governors need to know that minority parents with children in the public schools express similar concerns to those of non-minority parents. They, too, don’t understand why Common Core seems to assume that all children will benefit

The National Governors Association (NGA) owns the copyright – along with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) – to the Common Core State Standards. When the nationalized standards are mentioned these days, however, many governors would rather change

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Reviled by staunch conservatives, the common education standards designed to improve schools and student competitiveness are being modified by some Republican governors, who are pushing back against what they call the federal government’s intrusion into the

States that were awarded grants from President Obama’s Race to the Top (RttT) stimulus bill program agreed to implement the Common Core standards and to comply with the “Four Assurances,” one of which was the requirement of “Building data systems