The latest US educational standards were developed largely by the Gates Foundation. Photograph: Juice Images/Alamy
There's a pretty good chance that up until last week, you'd never heard of the Common Core national standards and curriculum. That changed recently when New York State became the largest state thus far to see a sharp reversal in the adoption of the standards. A bipartisan group of legislators proposed suspending the use of the Common Core assessment tests, based largely on the rebellion of the state's largest teacher's union. After endorsing a plan three years ago that would link teacher evaluations to student test scores, the union has now seen the actual testing results – available for the first time last fall – and isn't sosure.
Geographical media bias has drawn national attention to New York, but similar backtracking has occurred in Louisiana, Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Alabama. New York stands out on the list for another reason besides its size and location. If this were a standardized test, would you be able to tell which one of these things is not like the other?
If you said anything besides New York, consider remedial education for yourself. New York is a dark navy blue beside the brilliant reds of the other states. It has not just a Democratic governor, but one otherwise closely aligned with the Obama administration. Until recently, opposition to the Common Core has come almost solely from conservative corners, with Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin leading the charge. Beck's primary allegation is familiar: "Kids are being indoctrinated with extreme leftist ideology." Of course, conservatives have been saying that schools "indoctrinate kids into extreme leftist ideology" for years – if this were as prevalent or effective as the GOP seems to think it is, they should all be