Move Forward with Common Core State Standards

Wednesday, July 2, 2014Printer-friendly version

The successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards is the right move for America's students. More than 40 states affirmed this belief when they adopted the standards and committed to implementing them. Not only are CCSS the right thing for our students, but repealing them would do tremendous harm. These voices make the critical argument that the CCSS are very much still needed and that backtracking will result in severe consequences for America's students. 

Repealing Common Core will harm our students

By Nancy Gardner, The Mooresville Tribune

June 30, 2014 

"Preparing students for the challenges of 21st Century colleges and careers requires that teachers have the right tools to create a challenging academic environment that will push students to think smarter, work more productively and master their lessons. The Common Core State Standards gives teachers the flexibility to do all of that. 

That's why I am so disappointed that North Carolina's legislators are considering repealing these standards. Aside from the money the state invested to train teachers in the Common Core, throwing away these standards barely four years after they were adopted will create upheaval in classrooms, which will ultimately harm the students." 

 And, 

"The Common Core standards have created a shift in which teachers become coaches and students become learners. My teaching has been re-energized by this shift, and my colleague who teaches junior English in the classroom next-door to me has also embraced the shift. He frequently pokes his head into my room to say, "We're Common Coring today," which tells me that his students are on-track with the standards to be prepared for the more complex lessons they'll see next year from me." 

And, 

"Teachers and districts have invested countless time, money, and energy into these standards. We have participated in professional development opportunities, attended conferences, joined webinars, collaborated with our colleagues, and made ongoing efforts to ensure our students are receiving the best instruction possible. We have learned to teach deeper, not wider, so we can prepare students for life after high school. 

Are we seriously considering throwing all of that away and starting again? Please, for the benefit of our students, our teachers, and the future of the Tar Heel state, we must continue to implement the Common Core State Standards." 

Nancy Gardner is a National Board Certified Teacher who teaches senior English at Mooresville High School. She is also a member of the Center for Teaching Quality Collaboratory. 

 

Guest commentary: Common Core still makes common sense

by Marc H. Morial and Erika McConduit-Diggs, The New Orleans Advocate 

July 1, 2014 

"Simply put, our children don't deserve to have Gov. Bobby Jindal play politics with their futures. His unilateral and virtually unsupported decision to walk away from the Common Core and aligned educational assessments will totally disrupt and potentially reverse the progress that has been made in classrooms. When students and teachers return to school in the fall, they should not be faced with limbo while Jindal cobbles together new standards - not when the equitable implementation of Common Core presents a high-quality solution to the issues of inconsistent and unequal education standards." 

And, 

"Clearly, the standards in place before Common Core didn't consistently prepare our students for bright futures. In fact, about one in four students in the state read proficiently and only 17 percent graduated high school ready for college. This is unacceptable. We need to focus on ensuring that we get the implementation of Common Core right and not waste another second or dime superfluously developing another set of standards and assessments. 

"Our children cannot afford to press pause on their futures while Jindal shores up support for his own political future. Parents shouldn't have to spend $71 million on college remedial courses each year on content that should be part of their child's education. Our businesses can't wait for the skilled workers they need now to fill jobs. Louisiana students and families shouldn't be forced to stop the progress we've already made." 

And, 

"To leave Common Core is to leave our children behind - as a state and a nation. Govs. Jindal, Mary Fallin, of Oklahoma, Nikki Haley, of South Carolina, Mike Pence, of Indiana, and Rick Scott, of Florida have cynically chosen to sacrifice our children's futures to promote their own political agendas. Implementing the Common Core shouldn't be about elections; it should be about children. We must get this right, and we must put our children first. For too long, separate and unequal levels of expectations and resources in our schools have continued to break down along the color line, leaving students without all that they need to be ready for college, work and life. Let's use this as an opportunity to achieve the promise we made to our nation 60 years ago - an equal and excellent education for all." 

Marc H. Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League. Erika McConduit-Diggs is president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans and a member of The New Orleans Advocate advisory board.  

 

Achieve has developed materials to help states, districts, and others understand the organization and content of the standards and the content and evidence base used to support the standards. Visit www.achieve.org/achieving-common-core

If you find a news clip supportive of the Common Core, please send it to Chad Colby at ccolby@achieve.org.

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