A wasteful push for Common Core repeal
Published June 6, 2014
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, June 5, 2014.
The way North Carolina children learn is in hot debate. At the heart of the issue is an effort to repeal the Common Core curriculum, which sets English and math standards at each grade level in 44 states.
Why are a few states exempt from standards imposed by the Obama administration? They're not. It's not a federal program, despite frequent claims from its critics. Steps toward Common Core began in 1996, when a bipartisan group of governors launched Achieve, Inc., to develop standards. States signed on voluntarily after 2009.
A 2004 report from Achieve defines the issue: "Current high-school exit expectations fall well short of employer and college demands." Connecting the dots, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce became a major supporter of the Common Core.
Those are not radical origins or aims. But fringe groups have incited a backlash by pushing fictional conspiracy theories about Common Core. Unfortunately, these oft-repeated tales have taken in many mainstream conservatives.
The General Assembly is on the verge of scrapping Common Core. The House voted to repeal it and the Senate may follow suit. Gov. Pat McCrory disagrees, though a veto might be overridden. He's hoping it won't get to that and legislators will soften their bill, to tweak rather than repeal.
Our Republican legislators are conservatives, but few are radical ideologues. They would be wise to exercise more skepticism about Common Core opponents' agenda.
Rep. John Szoka, a Fayetteville Republican, explains his vote against Common Core by citing conversations with educators who personally dislike all the testing that comes with it.
But any plan to scrap Common Core would have to replace it with other standards that also require testing.
Most of those voting down Common Core are also proponents of reduced spending. But their actions will scrap millions of dollars spent on training and instructional materials that must be replaced under new standards, at great cost to taxpayers.
Common Core is really about two things: creating an apples-to-apples way to measure the educational achievement of our nation's students, and more important, increasing educational rigor in American schools. As our students steadily fall behind their global competitors, the increase in rigor is of critical importance.
We hope our lawmakers will make that their goal too, and fashion a workable approach to using Common Core.
http://www.fayobserver.com/opinion/article_78b5de25-7a88-5242-9c62-78f6ba4e803b.html
