‘Common Core’ Education Fight to Test ALEC’s Conservative Chops American Principles Project

American Principles Project:

‘Common Core’ Education Fight to Test  ALEC’s Conservative Chops

Critical Vote Set for Friday to Release States from Top-Down Federal Standards

Washington, DC – Today, on the eve of a critical vote on the Common Core Standards by state lawmakers, theAmerican Principles Project (APP) and Pioneer Institute released a white paper that makes the case against state adoption of the national Common Core State Standards.  Co-sponsored by Pacific Research Institute and the Washington Policy Center, Controlling Education From the Top: Why Common Core Is Bad for America argues in favor of a Common Core withdrawal resolution that will be considered by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) at its spring meeting on Friday, May 11. “This white paper walks through the history of Common Core – its creation by private interests and trade associations, and its enthusiastic promotion by the federal Department of Education – and shows why state acquiescence to this campaign will be bad for the states, bad for parents, bad for students, and bad for teachers,” said Emmett McGroarty, Preserve Innocence Director at APP. “The Common Core standards aim for community college readiness and because they are not benchmarked to international standards, they will not make America educationally more competitive.  They create a $16 billion unfunded mandate on states and localities,” said Jim Stergios, Executive Director of Pioneer Institute. “The associated national tests, which come with curricular and teacher practice guides, violate three federal laws.  These are pesky facts that so-called education reformers who support national standards have no answers for.” “The ALEC Board has an important decision to make,” said Liv Finne of Washington Policy Center.  “Across America, there is a rapidly growing push-back against the Common Core Standards.  The ALEC board should approve the resolution, just as its Education Task Force did last December.  At stake is whether government responds to the people or to other interests.  The resolution amounts to a policy statement affirming that government should be responsive to the people.”  “There was very little public debate about Common Core when it was presented to the states,” said Lance Izumi, Senior Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute.  “Especially in the area of academic content, it seems as though states were seriously misled.  This report will contribute to a growing national discussion of the threats posed by Common Core.” The white paper can be seen here:  http://americanprinciplesproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Controlling-Education-From-the-Top.pdf The Resolution can be seen here: http://americanprinciplesproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Comprehensive-Legislative-Package-Opposing-the-Common-Core-State.pdf The American Principles Project is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and propagating the fundamental principles on which our country was founded - universal principles, embracing the notion that we are all, "created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."