Common Core (also called the Common Core State Standards Initiative) is the latest in a long line of federally backed national education programs. The concept of creating a national education system, with a single set of standards, that can be equally applied in Brooklyn, NY; Culver City, CA and Ocala, FL is not new, it stretches back to the 1960’s. Then, it was Project Talent, in the 90’s we called it Outcome-Based Education, later “Goals 2000”, then No Child Left Behind and now Race to the Top and Common Core have become the flavor of choice of the progressive reformers. Each time one of these “reforms” has been tried, it’s failed to produce the promised results, and each time the individuals promoting these “reforms” learn a little more about how to repackage the same product. By now, the creators of these “one size fits all” plans have realized that even in today’s more collectivist minded society, people don’t want the federal government digging into their local business and so they have developed a reform plan that sounds local but acts nationally. What do I mean?
Well, let’s take the name, “Common Core State Standards Initiative”. It sounds like the states got together and agreed on common standards right? Well, that’s how the creators describe it but the reality is much different. The standards were developed and written by a small group brought together by McGraw-Hill Executive David Coleman. Coleman then used his political and big business connections to rope in two of the world’s richest education reformers and corporations to gather the influence needed to push these standards through the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Once those two organizations were on board, Coleman used the money invested by the Gates and Broad Foundation (Bill Gates and Eli Broad are billionaire education activists from the west coast who combined to donate more than $60 million to the Common Core program) to bring the teachers unions and groups like the PTA on board. Simultaneously, Broad and Gates connected individuals found themselves in key positions in the Obama Administration (like Joanne Weiss, the Director of Race to the Top who is deeply connected to the Broad Foundation) and Race to the Top was born. Race to the Top was designed as a program to get states to buy-in to a set of national standards that they likely otherwise would never have agreed to. States were not involved in writing the standards and while the group did submit the standards to the state boards of education for review and feedback, there’s no evidence that any of the feedback given (of which there is extensive evidence) was considered in the final copyrighted set of standards. Likewise, the standards are copyrighted by the group that wrote them and states are not allowed to modify or change them although they may add another 15% to the top.
But Evan, they’re just “standards” right? So what? There’s a couple of concerns with ANY federal intervention, especially “just standards”. I’ll explain. First of all, there’s MUCH more involved here than JUST standards, even though most of the proponents will do their absolute best to convince you otherwise (including a rather flamboyant though completely wrong teacher at the Cape School Board meeting on June 13th). After all, what are “standards”? Webster’s says that they are, “something set up and established by authority as a rule for the measure of quantity, weight, extent, value or quality. “ Well, how can you judge the quality of standards without a test or assessment? You can’t, which is why the federal government isn’t just supporting standards, they’ve also allocated money ($360 million) to create assessments to measure those standards. Two different consortia
(PARCC and SBAC) have been established to create a new series of assessments
designed to gauge a student’s progress toward grasping “Common Core”
standards. These, “Common Core aligned
assessments” will replace the old testing systems as the new form of
standardized testing that we keep hearing is such a negative impact on student
learning (teaching to the tests is always cited as the reason for such poor
performance). Of course, now that you
have a nationally developed set of standards and a national assessment system,
you can’t keep using the same curriculum.
Obviously
the new standards are an improvement over the current standards so it must them
mean that the curriculum will have to be “aligned” to meet the standards which
are evaluated by the assessments. Second,
let’s assume for a moment that this is JUST about standards and not the
assessments that you need to measure progress towards the standards or the curriculum
that you need to ensure that students meet the standards and pass the
assessments. The question then becomes,
are these standards rigorous? Have they
been validated? Is there evidence that
they work? The answer to all of those
questions, by any objective viewpoint is no.
Leading educators in the English Language Arts and Mathematics fields
who were on the validation committee for Common Core refused to sign off on
them because there were no examples showing that they actually worked. Dr. Sandra Stotsky (who developed the
standards for Massachusetts that are some of the best in the nation) refused to
sign off on Common Core and said, “I kept asking for information on the research base for the English
Language Arts standards that were being developed… and I couldn’t get any
information at all. There was no evidence from any kind of research that a
stress on informational reading and writing would prepare students better for
college level work than an emphasis on… complex literary texts.” Likewise, one of the head writers of the math
standards, Jason Zimba, told the Massachusetts Board
of Education that the Common Core Standards were only acceptable for entrance into a nonselective community college, not a four year university and represented the very bottom of what should be expected. Ze’ev Wurman, a math validation committee member who refused to sign off on Common Core Standards said “In terms of college readiness, its content is far below what is presently expected for college eligibility, which will create unreasonable expectations by parents and pressure on state universities to admit underprepared students.”
“In terms of college readiness, its content is far below what is presently expected for college eligibility, which will create unreasonable expectations by parents and pressure on state universities to admit underprepared students.”
Similar comments were made at the GOP meeting, per the usual the knotts gang found fault with those opposed to CC.
I’d be interested to hear Knotts, or anyone for that matter, make the argument for standards that are below college expectations. I think perhaps the individuals may not know that Jason Zimba, one of the writers of the standards, said himself that these standards are adequate for admittance to a non-selective community college (meaning a school that accepts anyone with a HS diploma) and NOT for a 4 year university.
I would be interested to hear why we shouldn’t be STRIVING to reach standards across the country (preferably through individual state actions) that make HS graduates prepared for even the MOST selective and elite universities. Why limit them to community colleges?
there are legimate criticisms of the common core and more specifically fact to the top. this is nothing new. del ware has moved from one standard to another over the last fifteen years. most of this began under no child left behind which was of course gw bush’s educational reform. it has since been reauthorized twice i believe. the people who attended the cape board meeting were giddy about freedom works showing up. the lady from freedom works was a good presenter (albeit short on documentation to prove her point). the problem was that the people who attended to support the presentation do not live in the cape district. the people who do live in the district understand what a wing nut is….. which is why the conspiracy laden resolution did not even receive a second motion to allow it to be voted upon.
del ware has moved from one standard to another over the last fifteen years.
And so since that what we’ve always done, that’s what we should continue to do? Ask any teacher, any administrator, is that what we should be doing? They’re going to tell you no. We should design a solid set of rigorous educational STANDARDS (which means they should be battle tested and in place for the long term) and stick to that set of standards.
most of this began under no child left behind which was of course gw bush’s educational reform. it has since been reauthorized twice i believe.
Actually SI, you’re incorrect. This “national standards” or common standards across all states (which is the definition of NATIONAL standards) has been going on since the 1960’s when AIR [American Institutes for Research] (who by the way is the one doing the DCAS and the new SBAC Common Core Assessments) started Project Talent. In the 80’s, Reagan nearly defunded the Dept of Ed and drastically reduced their power but under the progressives in the 90’s the concept became “Outcome-Based Education” then GOALS 2000 (all of this is in the source above)…NCLB was just the next incarnation and I don’t care WHO put it in place, this isn’t about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about educational policies that simply don’t work.
the people who attended the cape board meeting were giddy about freedom works showing up. the lady from freedom works was a good presenter (albeit short on documentation to prove her point). the problem was that the people who attended to support the presentation do not live in the cape district.
Since I was there, let me correct you SI…I’ll have a post about the Cape Meeting shortly
#1 – The people at the meeting were happy to have their concerns explained by someone who had been in the trenches. They’ve found that most of the time, a mother or a father or a taxpayer doesn’t mean diddly squat to a school board (unless it’s election time)…it seems all they care about is the word of the educators…so this time they found an educator. So she was from Feedomworks…the who Common Core Initiative was written for and by special interest groups. She is a former teacher and highly decorated one who knows a thing or two about Common Core.
#2 – Her presentation wasn’t short on documentation, it was laden with it. She had to skip a good portion of it because of the time constraints place on her by the Board. I’m not sure if you were there (if you were you either missed the multiple times she said that she had to skip the actual documents but you were welcome to review it, or you’re misrepresenting the truth, either way, you’re incorrect). In fact, if there is any part of what she said that you need cleared up from a fact perspective, *I* would be happy to share that documentation with you as I’m sure I have access to it.
#3 As to the lack of a second to the bill, it must be seconded by a BOARD MEMBER. There were plenty of Cape residents in attendance willing to second it and one actually did try to from the floor but as they have no vote, they were not allowed. This attempt to make it seem like it was carpet bagged is ridiculous and untrue. It’s a tactic Maria Evans tried unsuccessfully to use at the venue and it’s poor form. What happened was over the month previous to the vote, the DSEA and State Dept of Education put on a full court press to win over the members who were on the fence previously.
the people who do live in the district understand what a wing nut is….. which is why the conspiracy laden resolution did not even receive a second motion to allow it to be voted upon.
Please post what you believe are “conspiracies” from the resolution. I will find time to dig up the proof for you on each one.
My grandkids go to school in the CHSD, and it appalls and frightens me that a documented thug like Evan Q — who have absolutely NO business at a CH board meeting — was in attendance and trying to influence the policies by which my grandkids are educated.
“As to the lack of a second to the bill, it must be seconded by a BOARD MEMBER. There were plenty of Cape residents in attendance willing to second it and one actually did try to from the floor but as they have no vote, they were not allowed. ”
Alas, you have to WIN ELECTIONS to have a vote. Something you’ve never done, and something Sandi Minard will never do again. No easy sliding in unopposed next time.
“What happened was over the month previous to the vote, the DSEA and State Dept of Education put on a full court press to win over the members who were on the fence previously.”
So the DSEA and the DOE made their argument, and then Freedomworks and the extreme right wing made their argument, and the elected representatives of the people made their decision. Sounds dangerously close to “democracy” to me.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: having people like Evan Q, Minard, Freedomworks and the Tea Party opposing CC simply guarantees its passage and continued use.
anon salty was already told only board members can vote on resolutions. Sandi Minard was the one who brought the resolution forward against common core now you state the way people in the district want to repay her is by not voting for her the next time. There you go shoot yourselves in the foot. The reason no one on the board would 2nd the resolution is because it would mean more taxes at the local level. That would be the kiss of death for any board member come election time. Better a “thug” standing up for the children who deserve more than a sub-standard education then “cowards” who are willing to settle for a second rate education for their children, because they don’t want to spend a few more bucks in taxes.
you people are thick. i was at the meeting as well. i am from the cape community. evan… you live in new castle…. if you are not a carpet bagger then what are you? that lady from freedom works had been sold a bill of goods. her jaw dropped when her “supporters” were called out for not living in the district. it was obvious that she had not done her homework. the remaining board members have heard from the people who actually live here via email and phone calls and that’s why there was no second to the motion. people in the cape district do not want people from the lunatic fringe bringing their political agenda to their schools.
“The reason no one on the board would 2nd the resolution is because it would mean more taxes at the local level. That would be the kiss of death for any board member come election time. ”
you make this assertion based on what? it makes no sense and is not true. the common core ship sailed long ago. the resolution, even if read meant nothing.
It’s always interesting when they resort to attacking the messenger rather than the message.
The problem anon…whoever you are…is that the School Board didn’t really bother to do any critical research on Common Core as many parents have. What they did was look at the teachers (who are well compensated by the unions who have been paid to support Common Core) and administrators and state education officials. The problem is that the Board puts more weight into what a teacher says, than a parent. That FRIGHTENS me. It should frighten all of us. Now maybe that’s OK for you. Maybe having an education elite make the decisions for you about your child’s education is a good thing. Maybe that makes you feel safe at night, not knowing if these standards are going to work. Maybe that’s a good thing for your grandkids. I’m going to guess it’s at the very least, POTENTIALLY not a good thing for them.
show me the research that documents how the schools are going to track a student’s religion as was asserted during the presentation.
you people are thick. i was at the meeting as well. i am from the cape community. evan… you live in new castle…. if you are not a carpet bagger then what are you?
#1 – I’m a taxpayer in Delaware who applies some of that money to what happens in Cape and with Common Core
#2 – I’m an uncle of 4 children in Cape and was representing them and their parents…not everyone can be as versed in Common Core and I was asked to be there for them. I obliged because I happen to care about my family and their futures.
that lady from freedom works had been sold a bill of goods. her jaw dropped when her “supporters” were called out for not living in the district. it was obvious that she had not done her homework.
I believe her jaw dropped (if it did) because Maria Evans came across as an overly dramatic bag of hate. It was rather poetic when she ended up having to admit that she herself was a special interest lobbyist…a little pot calling the kettle black on that one.
the remaining board members have heard from the people who actually live here via email and phone calls and that’s why there was no second to the motion. people in the cape district do not want people from the lunatic fringe bringing their political agenda to their schools.
Funny because people from the Cape district were there. This assertion that all of Ms Minard’s supporters were from outside the district is ridiculous and it’s making your argument look foolish. There were a handful of the rather full room that were from outside the district but by no means all or even a majority. Then again, everything else you’ve said has been far from reality so why not that as well?
I live in the district, I have children in the schools. I make my claim about no one wanting the local taxes to increase based on all the bitching every time it’s been proposed in the past. If the money doesn’t come from the federal and state government coffers ie Race to the top and common core incentives who do you think has to pick up the short fall the district taxpayers.
The lunatics (your word not mine) are the people who are willing to ride the federal puppet train settling for a lousy education for the children in the district. Most of the student who graduate entering college have to take remedial English and Math because the education system has been dummied down so much over the last 25+ years. Wonder why more teachers aren’t speaking out about common core their jobs have been threatened, they’ve also been told to manipulate their test score results, so who are the real lunatics for selling the children out huh tell me that.
Race to the top was the precursor to common core RTTT only came about last year. NCLB could have been amended but the feds chose to scrap it opting for the “new” program Race To The Top/Common Core. The ship didn’t sail long ago it was barely launched when it began to sink, that’s why states are pulling out already before it’s fully implemented.
they were all carpet baggers that’s why they were ignored. they were ignored like poorly behaved children.
In 2010, the National Center for Education Statistics released a technical brief (http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011602.pdf…it specifically cites religious beliefs…) about “Guidance for Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS),” which formulated a detailed plan for “data stewardship” in education. The SLDS created a grant program (http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/about_SLDS.asp) in 2005, each grant lasting three to five years at up to $20 million per grantee. In 2012, a combination of 24 states and territories (http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/stateinfo.asp) struck a deal to implement data mining to receive grants. “Personally Identifiable Information” will be extracted from each student, which will include the following data: parents’ names, address, Social Security Number, date of birth, place of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc. On the other hand, according to the SLDS brief, “Sensitive Information” will also be extracted, which delves into the intimate details of students’ lives:
1. Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or parent;
2. Mental and psychological problems of the student or the student’s family;
3. Sex behavior or attitudes;
4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, and demeaning behavior;
5. Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
6. Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
7. Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent; or
8. Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).
a voice against the common core,
i am not arguing that the common core is great. a debate about high stakes testing is worth having for sure. teachers are under a lot of pressure for test scores and it is debatable whether or not race to the top was worth the money. there was race to the top money sucked up from testing companies etc. no child left behind greatly benefited the testing companies located in texas. the key language in no child left behind that required districts to go out and buy new curriculum was “research based instruction” in fact, the old dstp was shipped, cut, scanned and scored in texas. do you think it is a coincidence that bush was from texas? i am an independent. i have voted for both republicans and democrats. i am open to honest debate. what i saw at the meeting was a self serving circus.
They were ignored Salty…because they weren’t saying what the Board wanted to hear. They were ignored because the Board had already been told what to say and do and quite frankly, the only one on the Board that night who didn’t have something to gain from supporting Common Core, was Ms. Minard. The rest of the Board either works for the district in some capacity or has a family member who does.
“The rest of the Board either works for the district in some capacity or has a family member who does.”
This is flat out untrue. Name one family member from each board member.
“What they did was look at the teachers (who are well compensated by the unions who have been paid to support Common Core)”
Awesome to know that the unions pay the teachers. I was under the impression it was the taxpayers. And I assume you have evidence that the unions have been “paid to support Common Core?”
This is why people don’t have a lick of respect for your opinion. That and the thuggery and intimidation tactics.
” The rest of the Board either works for the district in some capacity or has a family member who does.”
not uncommon in a small community. slightly different from new castle…..but it does lend itself well to people with a propensity for conspiracy theories. the people at cape spoke. the glossed up carpet bagger was sent packing.
by the way i am stuck waiting for the documentation or link or anything that will substantiate the claim made during the presentation that schools would be tracking students’ religious affiliations.
“Most of the student who graduate entering college have to take remedial English and Math because the education system has been dummied down so much over the last 25+ years.”
Yeah, so maybe we ought to fix that by raising the standards. And maybe even make them the same for all of the schools, to make sure all of the kids learn what they’re supposed to. GREAT IDEA!!
Wait.
Oh.
“The rest of the Board either works for the district in some capacity or has a family member who does.”
This is flat out untrue. Name one family member from each board member.
Sarah Wilkinson works for the DOE as an evaluation coach…
Carrie Lewis (Andy’s wife) is a paraprofessional in the district who got the job, as I understand it, AFTER he was elected…
Roni Posner is a former teacher…
and both Jen Burton and Spencer Brittingham have friends and family who work in the system.
by the way i am stuck waiting for the documentation or link or anything that will substantiate the claim made during the presentation that schools would be tracking students’ religious affiliations.
#1 – the claim was that they COULD track things like student and family religious affiliations
#2 – I have already cited sources that make ample evidence of that in a previous comment that is awaiting moderation. Once the site administrator approves it, you will have your evidence.
you have cited nothing. ok…. explain to me how they “could” track religious affiliation. also…. who is the “they” you are referring to? i can’t wait to see what’s “awaiting moderation”
and for the record. posner was never a teacher in delaware. brittingham and burton have lived here for some time (brittingham going back 100’s of years) that it would be more surprising if they weren’t related to someone who worked for one of the community’s largest employers. your comments have no regard for context or history, but keep talking you are proving my point about your being a carpetbagger.
Evan, with all due respect , there is only ONE thing that matters here. YOUR FAMILY IS I. NCC, ALONG WITH THE OUTSTANDING BILLS YOU OWE.
When you read your tax bill, what school district is listed on it. . Oh, I mean your landlords tax bill……
If it is not CAPE HENLOPEN, they stay the duck home.
I don’t care if your monkeys uncles sisters cousins kids go to that school……not a DIME of your tax bill goes to cape district….it’s called LOCAL CONTROL., WHAT you tea baggers scream and cry for
So take a page out of your own book and mined your own business……you and your ilk were sent home once, and it will happen again, and again and again and every time the 9/12ers and the tea baggers etc….come and try to tell other school districts tax payers how to run their schools
Yr schools up there, where you live are a mess- fix the board in your own yard before you look at the splinter in someone else’s
And while y are at it, PLEASE pay off the rest of your bills
All y conservative types with criminal and or civil records just make your case and your public appearance worse
Oh, and Ms Minnard would be better off, not on the school board and staying home to tutor her child who is barely making the grade , so to speak and not yanking the children of other parents off their school bus, she tries that again, there will be criminal complaints made.
So stop “fixing” perceived problems of other, mind your own business and fix your own problems, trust me, life will be easier.
I could care less, what you think about common core……stay in your yard and I/ we will stay in ours.
Evan, sorry to take so long on approving your comment, please limit the number of links per comment to two and you will not end up in moderation.
Now let me address the very first comment on this thread by “A Voice Against Common Core”, who said, “Similar comments were made at the GOP meeting, per the usual the knotts gang found fault with those opposed to CC.”
This person needs to zip up their pants, their agenda is showing, they have chosen to make a statement that is an out and out lie.
I am not sure which meeting they are talking about, but if they are talking about the monthly Sussex GOP meeting, I never spoke on CC at that meeting, and my criticism was not based on CC, but the fact that one of those who did speak, seemed more concerned with identifying as a 9/12er, rather than as a Republican, it had nothing to do with my views on CC.
If on the other hand they are speaking of the 35th District meeting this past Monday night, at which Sandi Minard spoke on CC, well yes I did ask questions and make suggestions.
Let me just say here, that Ms. Minard made what I thought was a reasonable case for her opinion on CC, it is clear that she has done research, and that she is convinced that CC would be detrimental to the CHSD. As a board member that is her job. I found her presentation to be informative, if only from her side of the debate. I have heard others speak from the other side of the debate that also make good points.
Unlike Evan and others, I am not so sure that this is a black and white issue. Few things in life are.
The only point I have ever made on CC, is that all this noise is not needed. The districts have the power to decide for themselves, they simply need only to refuse state and federal funding and pay higher local taxes for the things they do want. That comes down to the voters in the district understanding that local control is lost the second they accept outside funding.
The one thing that I have been stuck by is the argument that because these standards have never been tried before, then we shouldn’t try them now. Just from a point of making a compelling argument, that is pretty weak. If we took that view on everything then no one would have ever flown, there would be no electric light bulb, the Bible would still be hand scribed.
There are parts to CC, if true, that should cause us to pause and ask questions, if it is true that there will be data mining, beyond academic data, then I have a problem. I do think that the point, that if standards are set, then new testing will be required, and curriculum will find its way into the system is valid.
It is clear that some on both sides of this debate are running on pure emotional response and knee jerk reaction.
I will close with what I had to say at the 35th meeting. If you are concerned with the fact that your schools are not teaching your child the classics, then read the classics with your child, I did! If you feel that the schools are teaching something that you feel goes against your values, it is up to you as a parent to counteract that.
A parent’s responsibility does not end when the door of the bus closes. It is called personal responsibility.
Tuxamus Maximus wonders if any of this spends ‘Race to the Top’ money? If it does its a sad way to spend the money. In reality it’s just plain SAD that this CC thing is even considered.
The one thing that I have been stuck by is the argument that because these standards have never been tried before, then we shouldn’t try them now. Just from a point of making a compelling argument, that is pretty weak. If we took that view on everything then no one would have ever flown, there would be no electric light bulb, the Bible would still be hand scribed.
You’re misrepresenting the argument. No one has said that they shouldn’t be “tried”. What we’re saying is that before you foist a set of standards on every child in every state across the nation (raising some while lowering others)…you should have a reasonable testing model to assure that they work. Why not try it for a time in a district that agrees to test them?
Tuxamus Maximus wonders if any of this spends ‘Race to the Top’ money? If it does its a sad way to spend the money. In reality it’s just plain SAD that this CC thing is even considered.
Oh yes…yes it does. In fact, without the Race to the Top money, most states wouldn’t even have signed on to Common Core.
Evan’s Pt. II post on CC is now up. Here is a link, http://www.delawareright.com/guest-post-by-evan-queitsch-pt-ii/
To save cross posting and confusion I am shutting down comments on this thread. I hope this is not too confusing, but due to the length of Evan’s original post we felt two parts was better. Thanks