Will States Fail the Common Core?
The Common Core State Standards are taking so many hits these days that some might wonder why so many people think they should play an important role in American education. In our competitive, fast-changing global economy, if students don't have higher-order capabilities like critical thinking and problem solving, mastery of essential knowledge, and the skill and will to persist, they will be left behind. That's what the Common Core is about.
Instruction in many wealthier public and private schools is routinely aligned to such skills, often through project-based and hands-on learning. But between budget cuts and top-down accountability laws like No Child Left Behind--whose testing fixation promotes test-prep and rote memorization--poor kids have gotten less access to the well-rounded, rigorous education they deserve. Without standards aligned to what kids need to succeed in college, career and life, and ample supports to help them get there, that chasm will grow even wider.