The Real Failure Of Common Core
The Common Core State Standards were developed in 2009 in an effort to create more rigorous K-12 curriculum standards in math and literacy. To date, 44 states have adopted the standards. But even with such widespread adoption, the Common Core State Standards are among the most hotly contested pieces of legislation in the country -- and will play a prominent role in the presidential campaign ahead.
Why the disagreements? Many conservatives are outraged at attempts to "federalize" the curriculum. Jeb Bush, an ardent supporter of Common Core, is being vilified for his support -- with Donald Trump going so far as to say that support of Common Core will "kill Bush". Chris Christie, a vocal supporter of the Common Core in 2014, now says his views have "evolved" and opposes it. Ted Cruz chimes in, "We need to repeal every word of Common Core!" On the left, Hillary Clinton called the arguments around Common Core "very painful, because the Common Core started off as a bi-partisan effort," but she has avoided taking much of a position. Others on the left express concern about the increasing number of hours that will be spent on testing, lack of teacher preparation, and inadequate curriculum materials.
In an effort to implement the policy mandate of "all students college ready," the Common Core state standards have been designed to align with college admissions requirements. Because colleges require all applicants to take advanced math -- at least Algebra II -- this is the math standard that all students in the country will now have to meet, requiring mastery of obscure algebraic procedures that the vast majority of adults never use. In English, high school student writing will be limited to essays on the assumption that skill in writing essays is what is required for college. The ability to tell stories -- an essential tool for making one's point in the adult world -- is not in the curriculum.
Even at its best, the new Common Core tests will not assess any of the so-called soft skills that matter a great deal -- and are hard to teach and to learn. Also, because Common Core standards only exist for language arts and mathematics, the time given to teaching other subjects such as science, history, and the arts will continue to decline. New York City schools, for instance, saw an 84 percent decline in spending for arts supplies and equipment between 2006 and 2013. What's worse, 20 percent of the schools do not have an arts teacher of any kind. But in our current high-stakes testing environment, schools are pressured to spend ever-increasing amounts of class time on the subjects that will be tested.
There is the question of whether the Common Core curriculum will result in students working on material that is merely more difficult (and more frequently tested) rather than spending time on content that actually interests them. Will students be more actively engaged as learners with the new curriculum?
In one popular video about recommended approaches to teaching the Common Core, teachers are encouraged to spend eight days teaching Martin Luther King's famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail." There is no suggestion that the teacher might want to explore students' experiences with racism or other topical issues. Teachers are supposed to require students to "just stick to the text" in the discussions. Outstanding urban teachers who have seen this video laugh at it. One told us, "This guy wouldn't last a day in our classrooms."
While we agree that far too many high school discussions lack rigor, a consideration of The Real Failure Of Common Core | Ted Dintersmith:
