Defense Department schools begin implementing Common Core standards — but giving them different name
The public school system run for the Department of Defense to educate children of active duty military and civilian department families in the United States and around the world has started to implement new standards that look remarkably like the Common Core. But it’s calling them by a different name.
Thomas M. Brady, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity — the umbrella agency responsible for department schools in the United States and abroad — told the Military Times that the process has just begun, and that it will take several years to implement what is being called “College and Career Ready” standards in schools around the world. The Department of Defense Education Activity operates 172 schools in 11 countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico, according to the DoDEA’s Web site. The schools educate about 74,437 students, the Web site says.
The standards, according to the Web site, are “based in large part on the Common Core State Standards,” but the name was changed because the brand has become so controversial in the United States over the past several years, with some Republican governors pulling their states out of the core initiative or renaming the standards. U.S. News & World Report, in an article this year, quoted Paul Peterson, a professor of government and education policy at Harvard University, as saying the name change makes sense.
“The words have become tainted by the debate,” Peterson said. “I expect to see more of this kind of rebranding happening – many states are already thinking along these lines.”
The implementation schedule for the DoDEA schools calls for math standards for pre-K through grade 5 to be put into place this year, math and literacy standards for grades 6-12 next year, and literacy standards for pre-K through grade 5 in 2017-18, the Military Times reported. Brady said that agency officials are spreading out the implementation of the standards to make sure that teachers are adequately trained and instructional materials are available.
The agency has not selected a standardized test to assess students on their knowledge of the standards, but Brady was quoted as saying that there would be no high stakes connected to any exam that is selected. “We’re not going to create an environment here in DoDEA that has high-stakes assessments,” he was quoted as saying.
The Common Core has become highly controversial, with opponents coming from all points on the political spectrum. Some have complained that the initiative was pushed on states by the federal government, while others have criticized some of the standards as developmentally inappropriate. There has also been a lot of turmoil around Common Core assessments, including those Defense Department schools begin implementing Common Core standards — but giving them different name - The Washington Post:
