How far will N.Y. Gov. Cuomo really go in overhauling Common Core?
Last week, a task force created by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to review Common Core curriculum and aligned standardized testing issued a report with a series of recommendations on how to change the standards and assessment. The report, which detailed mistakes in the Core’s implementation in New York, was the subject of stories in the press (including an Answer Sheet post here) that discussed the changes the task force is recommending, and that Cuomo is expected to accept.
Here’s a new piece on the report, which says that there is less there than meets the eye, and that New Yorkers shouldn’t expect big changes. It was written by Carol Burris, who retired as principal of South Side High School in New York last June and is now the executive director of the nonprofit Network for Public Education Fund. She was named New York’s 2013 High School Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. In 2010, she was selected as the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State.
By Carol Burris
Poor Andrew Cuomo. He really doesn’t get it. He can’t understand that yet another commission report, with pictures of grinning kids, will not make New York mothers and teachers like him again.
The press release for the New York Common Core Task Force Final Report, released last week, suggests that New York will create its own standards and abandon the Common Core, assuming Cuomo accepts its recommendations. That is not, however, an accurate characterization of what is in the report. It does a credible job of describing New York’s botched implementation of reform, but if New Yorkers were looking for audacity and clear direction, they will not find it in the task force report.
The report is timid. There is no courage in recounting well-documented mistakes. Parents understand the problems that resulted from goofy modules, mixed up math and horrible tests. There would be courage, however, in charting a bold course forward that provides immediate relief for the students and teachers of New York. Such bravery, sadly, is noticeably absent.
Let’s begin with its recommendations regarding the Common Core. Although the press release characterizes the report as demanding an “overhaul” of the standards, the body of the report calls for minimal change. There are only two specific recommendations: (1) modify the standards K-2 and (2) provide How far will N.Y. Gov. Cuomo really go in overhauling Common Core? - The Washington Post:
