Common Core: Rotten to the Core or Common Core for the common good?

Imagine that you are hungry and need some food to improve your situation. A group of people give you an apple. You look at the apple and it has some blemishes and a bruise or two. Do you say the apple is rotten to the core, or would you take the apple and eat the parts that are good and cut off the bad parts? The argument states that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are rotten to the core, but I would like to suggest that the common core, while not perfect, is a step toward the common good.

The argument states that Common Core is a nationalized education K-12 program that is led by private interest groups with the power being centralized in the federal government who have a national agenda. The definition of the word Nationalized is to put under state control or ownership. Clearly not a Federal program. According to the Core Standards website, “The state-led effort to develop the Common Core State Standards was launched in 2009 by state leaders, including governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia, through their membership in the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). State school chiefs and governors recognized the value of consistent, real-world learning goals and launched this effort to ensure all students, regardless of where they live, are graduating high school prepared for college, career, and life. The standards are informed by: the best state standards already in existence, the experience of teachers, content experts, states, and leading thinkers, and feedback from the public.”

The Common Core State Standards Initiative was also in partnership with Achieve, Inc.; ACT and the College Board. Achieve is an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit education reform organization based in Washington D.C. that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability. The National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) received nearly 10,000 comments on the standards during two public comment periods. Many of the comments from teachers, parents, school administrators, and other citizens concerned with education policy helped shape the final version of the standards.

The misconception of the CCSS being a federal government program undoubtedly happened because the Obama administration saw the group had come up with a great set of standards and decided to latch onto it as if it were their own program. Enter No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the program in place before the CCSS. All schools had to fill out 40 check boxes to get a 100% grade by the year 2014 or they would be considered a failing school. Many states were opting out of NCLB.  States had to fill out a waiver if they did not think they would get 100 percent under NCLB by 2014. Part of the waiver said states had to list standards that they have in their state in order to be applicable for this waiver. The federal government couldn't dictate what the standards would be.  Most states were using the standards that the governors (NGA), superintendents (CCSSO), and Achieve had put in place (CCSS) because they worked.  Oklahoma was one of the states who tried to get a waiver. The governor signed a bill that repealed the Common Core so they had to come up with their own standards. Oklahoma didn't have anything in place when they applied for the last waiver so they were denied.  Indiana got their waiver approved because they came up with standards that were rigorous enough to work and Oklahoma did not.

Because the Federal government denied the waiver to Oklahoma many people think CCSS is under the federal government. This is not true. The CCSS are great and many people like the standards. The problem is they don't want the federal government having control of education in the states. What they don't understand is that the federal government tied themselves to the standards and to NCLB with the waivers so it looks like the federal government is running the program when they're not. The real question seems to be is it that people don’t like the CCSS or do they not like the federal government getting involved with the CCSS?  According to Laura Hesson, the Washington County School District School Board Vice-President, “Districts choose the curriculum and there's hundreds of things that they have in the curriculum and the teachers choose which standards they will teach that year.” According to Achieve.org, “The federal government will not govern the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core was and will remain a state-led effort. States and local school districts will drive implementation of the Common Core.”

The argument also states that the common core is the cause of a decline in educational standards in the last few years. Some people think that we are a year to two years behind other states and countries because of the CCSS. They claim that in math for instance, students are not taught Algebra until 9^th grade. This is not true. The standards show that there are pieces of algebra taught before the eighth grade. Students have pieces of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry taught each year and they get more and more complex. All the pieces are taught at a low level for Math I, at a higher level for Math II, and at an even higher level in Math III. If the data and statistics really show we are behind other states and countries now, then the question is, where were the students before implementing the CCSS because we have raised the bar and the math is now more rigorous then it was a few years ago.

Another argument stated is that seniors in schools who have the CCSS are not prepared for college. The claim is that students will need to take more math classes at a 2 year college just to be admitted to a 4 year university. This begs a few questions to be answered. Where does this data come from? The seniors who are still in high school right now are the first class of students who have had the CCSS all 4 years of high school. Students had Math I as a freshman, Math II as a sophomore, and Math III as a junior.  During their senior year they are prepared to take a college math class if they want to because they have completed all the required Math classes. How many students four years ago as seniors were prepared to take college math? Because the current seniors are the first to go through all the common core standards where's the data coming from that says they're not prepared for college and that they have to take extra classes before they're ready for a 4 year university?

One final argument of the CCSS is the belief that data gathered from assessments is given to the federal government. According to the CCSS website, “There are no data collection requirements for states adopting the standards. Standards define expectations for what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade. Implementing the Common Core State Standards does not require data collection. The means of assessing students and the use of the data that result from those assessments are up to the discretion of each state and are separate and unique from the Common Core.” They are working on a common assessment that states can adopt and use, but states can choose whether or not to use these assessments. The Utah State Office of Education (USOE) has had a student level data warehouse since 1998. The USOE has reported aggregate data to the federal government since the 1970s. The new computer adaptive assessment system (SAGE) will not change any of the data that are collected or reported. The USOE DOES NOT collect information on political affiliations or beliefs; sexual behavior or attitudes; religious practices, psychological or behavior testing, DNA, student address or e-mail, or income of the student or family. The state of Utah has received money from the Federal government to improve the security of data collection, but it was not “Race to the Top” money and does not have a connection to the Common Core.

When it comes to the CCSS the one thing everyone can agree upon is that they have become a highly debated topic. While I agree that the CCSS are far from perfect or the end all fix all for our education system, I do think it is a step in the right direction. Michael Cohen, President of Achieve said, the standards “provide a clear path – from kindergarten to high school graduation – for college and career readiness for all students. Importantly, they provide teachers, administrators, parents and students with the information they need to succeed.”  We can choose to take a bite out of the sweet part of the apple by embracing the CCSS and improving education for students in our nation or we can continue doing things the way we use to do because the Core is not quite perfect.