Frederick M. Hess's Blog
Should Conservatives Cuddle Up to the Common Core? My Take on the Finn-Petrilli v. Greene Debate
by Frederick M. Hess • Jul 27, 2010 at 8:52 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
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During the past week, my pals Checker Finn, Mike Petrilli, and Jay Greene have been sparring over the question of whether conservatives ought to embrace the Common Core standards. Petrilli and Finn have argued in a thoughtful National Review Online column that No Child Left Behind fueled an explosion of mediocre state standards, undermining accountability and reform. Greene has responded that there's good reason to believe that the Common Core won't deliver on its promises and that it will impose real costs. As usual, Joanne Jacobsand Alexander Russo have been all over this.
For what it's worth, here's my two cents: I think Finn-Petrilli and Greene are both right. Checker and Mike are absolutely correct that the standards were developed by a state-led partnership, are superior to those in place in most states, and that transparency and market efficiency can benefit dramatically from a clear, rigorous,
