The Educated Guess Let the common-core debate begin

The Educated Guess

Let the common-core debate begin

Posted in Common Core standards

The drafters of the common-core state standards released their final versionWednesday with fanfare and the endorsement of a slew of educators and political leaders in Atlanta. The debate now shifts to state capitals, including Sacramento, where the question that must be answered in two months can be reframed: Is what’s good for the nation – K-12 academic standards in math and English language arts that are more demanding than most states now have – also good for California?
Preceding that question is another: Can Californians who care about these matters engage in a dispassionate analysis of common core standards and associated issues of cost and testing without becoming defensive and retreating to the positions they had in the ‘90s, when they fought over the current state math standards?
The answers are critical, because the standards will determine what students are taught, which textbooks are used, what tests are written and how teachers are trained. Until now, it’s been each state for itself, making comparisons among states and nations difficult and often inaccurate.
In California, the sides, while not yet hardened, are forming.
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By John Fensterwald on June 3rd, 2010

Still missing: common-core nominees

Posted in Common Core standards

The final national common-core standards are due out today, but Gov. Schwarzenegger has still yet to announce his nominations for half of the members of the committee that is supposed to recommend by mid-July whether the state should adopt, reject or modify them.
The continued delay has led to speculation on which way Schwarzenegger is leaning – or whether he’s still making up his mind.
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By John Fensterwald on June 2nd, 2010

Schwarzenegger: We’re too big to ignore

Posted in Race to the Top

In their Race to the Top applications, some states have downplayed the lack of union support for their reforms. You have read deep into the applications to get the real numbers.
Not California. In his May 28 cover letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncanaccompanying the state’s second-round application (download pdf), Gov. Schwarzenegger wears union opposition as a badge of honor.
He wrote that the California Teachers Association “actively worked to prevent union support” for the state’s effort. Then he added, “I urge you not to penalize states like California that have submitted a detailed plan meeting all the goals of Race to the Top but have not gotten unanimous support of teachers unions. To do this would not only put at grave risk the ultimate goals embodied in Race to the Top, but it would send a message to some unions that their obstructionist tactics can work.”
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By John Fensterwald on June 2nd, 2010