In a 5,000-word article, the New York Times (9/7, Sorkin, Subscription Publication) details how the idea for the controversial “Common Core Standards Initiative” originated in 2008 after Bill Gates watched the Teaching Company’s “Big History” course while working out in his private gym. The course, taught by Australian professor David Christian, “wove together... a unifying narrative of life on earth.” In 2011, Gates and Christian collaborated and launched the Big History Project in five high schools. Since that inaugural effort, “Gates and Christian — along with a team of educational consultants, executives and teachers, mostly based in Seattle — have quietly accelerated its growth.” The article notes that, “this fall, the project will be offered free to more than 15,000 students in some 1,200 schools.”
Professor Argues Against Common Core Math Standards
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (8/6, Ratner, Subscription Publication), Marina Ratner, professor emerita of mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, makes a case against the Common Core math standards, calling their adoption in California a step backward for the state, and arguing that the standards will push the US closer to the bottom of international rankings.
NPR Explores New Concepts In Elementary Common Core Math
NPR’s All Things Considered (7/31) broadcast a segment in its series on the Common Core Standards focusing on how “the standards work in a second-grade math class.” The reporter discusses her own daughter’s use of “partial sums” for addition, explaining that though she herself found the concept to be alien, the Common Core requires that her daughter not only master it, but also be able to explain it. A transcript of this segment can be seen here (7/30, Alvarez).
Analysis: States’ Move Away From Common Core Likely Superficial
Education Week (7/30, Ujifusa) explores the impact of actions in a number of states in recent weeks in which they are either reexamining their participation in the Common Core Standards, or in which governors have “distanced themselves from the standards,” noting that despite this apparent softening of support, it is unclear “what exactly those opponents have won.” The piece suggests that changes to the standards in such states may be superficial or cosmetic, noting that there is little evidence “that the states backing away from the common core, or considering doing so, will ultimately produce anything that is truly different from those standards.”
Special Education Students’ Ability To Meet Common Core Standards Debated
A Hechinger Report (7/30) article describes the EngageNY curriculum developed by the New York State Education Department to coordinate with the Common Core Standards, and profiles a special-needs teacher who initially opposed the Common Core because she worried that her fourth-grade students, “whose reading is two to three levels below others their age, would be unable to handle the increased rigor along with a scripted approach to teaching and learning.” The piece describes how teachers have had to “modify” the materials to “meet the diverse needs” of their students. The article says that it is uncertain “whether students with disabilities can meet these new, more rigorous standards.”
Common Core Supporters Say They Must Up Public Outreach Efforts
Politico (7/29, Simon) reports that, after a “firestorm of opposition...took them by surprise,” supporters of the Common Core Standards have spent a lot of money to convince state legislators to keep the new guidelines. However, the standards’ top promoters admit “they’re losing the broader public debate.” Part of the reason is that schoolwork produced by well-educated kids isn’t interesting, while “a nonsensical math problem” could go viral, even if it has nothing to do with the common core. Similarly, “parents can — and do — blame” the Common Core for confusing material, bad grades, and kids’ stress, even if the new standards aren’t involved. While many “opponents’ claims are misleading or outright false,” they tap “a populist anger” and leave an impression, while supporters have tended to rely on dry facts in promoting the standards and focused on wooing state legislators, not parents. Common Core supporters are planning “a major reboot” of their efforts in which they seek to create anger over the current state of public education and excitement over prospects for change.
NPR Lays Out State Of Common Core Across US
NPR’s All Things Considered (7/24) aired a segment on the state of the Common Core Standards across the country, focusing on eroding support among the leading teachers unions, based on concerns about teacher evaluations using Common Core-aligned tests. The piece also describes efforts to repeal the standards in various states, three of which have been successful. The segment then focuses on the debate over the standards in Louisiana, and the issues that have surrounded implementation. A transcript of this segment can be seen here.
Report: Higher Education Community Failing To Align With Common Core
The Huffington Post (7/23) reports that according to a new report from the New America Foundation, while elementary and secondary schools in most of the country are working to implement the Common Core Standards, colleges and universities are not “even close to ready.” The report indicates that though the Common Core was designed largely to promote college readiness, the higher education community wasn’t involved in its creation. The report found that one reason for this disconnect is that “it’s hard to come up with a single definition of what makes a student ready for college.”
Blog Compares Common Core To New Math
Writing for the “Monkey Cage” blog of the Washington Post (6/17), Mark Palko discusses at length the “heated national debate” going on over the implementation of Common Core math standards, which he compares to “New Math” from the mid-20th century. Palko examines the changing geopolitical stage which led to the implementation of both programs, taking a generally critical tone and implying that the worries which caused the new educational programs may be somewhat overblown.
Automatic Retention For Failing Reading Loses Support With Common Core Rollout
The Politico (7/17, Emma) reports “political pressure to dilute” policies requiring third graders to repeat the year if they flunk a reading test is growing across the country as states prepare to roll out “more-challenging Common Core exams” next spring. States that have already implemented the exams have seen as many as 70 percent of students fail the exams, “raising fear of mass retentions” among stakeholders. Oklahoma has already moved to weaken the laws, saying that students can be promoted despite failing grades if a panel of parents and educators approve. Other states have also made moves to soften the retention laws’ impacts and in Ohio, it has become a campaign issue.
AFT Calls For More Teacher Input In Common Core Implementation
Stephen Sawchuk writes at the Education Week (7/15) “TeacherBeat” blog that the American Federation of Teachers’ governing body has “passed a resolution calling for more teacher input into the implementation of the Common Core State Standards.” Sawchuk writes that “the debate on the item underscored the extremely divergent opinions within the 1.6 million-member union about the K-12 student expectations.”
California Report Calls On State To Tighten Common Core Oversight
EdSource Today (7/11, Freedberg) reports that according to a report from researchers at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, increased local control under California’s new education budget law “has given school districts much leeway in adopting the Common Core State Standards,” bringing “the potential to create disparities in implementation the state should reduce.” The study’s authors found that “most districts lacked a comprehensive, coherent plan for the Common Core and that most didn’t have a unifying curriculum tying grades together.”
Cost Of Testing Contracts Is New Front In Common Core Fight
Politico (7/2, Simon, Emma) reported that the cost of testing contracts is the latest battleground in the fight over Common Core education standards. While about 40 states initially backed the idea of using shared tests, “at least 17 already have backed away from using them this spring, including several of the most populous states,” and “even some Obama allies,” including the National Education Association, “are angry at the administration’s decision to pour money into developing new exams years before most teachers began introducing the academic standards into their classrooms.”
School Officials Doubtful About Technological Infrastructure For Online Testing
Sean Cavanagh writes at the Education Week (7/1) “Digital Education” blog that a new survey sponsored by the Software & Information Industry Association and released at the 2014 conference of the International Society for Technology in Education indicates that roughly 60% of school officials “do not feel their schools have the bandwidth or devices to make them ready for summative, online testing.” Noting some significant methodological deficiencies of the survey, Cavanagh says that nonetheless, the results “seem to speak to school officials’ anxiety about administering computer-based tests aligned with the common-core standards.”
Hoover Fellow: Common Core Controversy Obscures Broader Education Policy Debate
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (7/1, Subscription Publication) titled, “How Teachers Unions Use ‘Common Core’ To Undermine Reform,” Eric Hanushek, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, says the growing controversy over Common Core has benefited the teachers unions by taking attention away from other education policy battles, including those involving merit pay and tenure reform.
Duncan Defends Common Core
Appearing on CBS This Morning (6/17, 8:31 a.m. EDT), Education Secretary Arne Duncan discussed the origins of and controversy surrounding the Common Core Standards. Duncan addressed the difference between the standards and the curricula used to teach them, and explains the impetus for strong standards. Asked about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s opposition to the standards, Duncan said, “Governor Jindal was a passionate supporter before he was against it, so this situation is about politics, not education. And frankly, that’s part of the problem. Republican, Democrat, ideology, we need to put that to the side. We need to help all of our children be successful.”
Duncan, Jindal Exchange Criticism Over Common Core. Coverage in Louisiana focuses on Duncan’s comments about Jindal. The New Orleans Times-Picayune (6/18) reports on Duncan’s above quote, and notes that Jindal “helped bring” the Common Core to Louisiana in 2010, but “joined a nationwide backlash” after they were implemented. Meanwhile, “the Legislature and state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education have maintained their course.” The paper notes that Duncan “called upon both sides of the aisle to take politics out of the Common Core debate,” while Jindal “now equates Common Core with Soviet central planning.”
The AP (6/17) also reports on Duncan’s appearance and his statement that “Jindal’s recent opposition to the Common Core education standards is politically-driven.” The AP notes that Jindal “has said he intends to take executive action to remove the Common Core from Louisiana classrooms,” and reports that his spokesperson “said Duncan’s comments prove the Common Core is being pushed by the Obama administration as ‘a federal takeover’ of education.”
In a subsequent article, the New Orleans Times-Picayune (6/18) reports that Jindal “fired back” at Duncan Tuesday afternoon, “again denouncing the Common Core academic standards as a federal takeover of public education.” The article quotes Jindal saying, “We will not be bullied by the federal government. The proponents of Common Core claim it is not a federal takeover, but Secretary Duncan’s comments and actions prove otherwise. He has already threatened Oklahoma with a loss of funding, and we may be next.”
Duncan Answers Alabama Teacher’s Common Core Question. Meanwhile, Alabama Live (6/18) reports that Huntsville, Alabama middle school teacher Lynette Alexander asked Duncan during his appearance on CBS This Morning via Skype how ED “would ensure that school districts’ standards-based curriculum would serve as an ‘equalizer’ to all students, particularly the disadvantaged.” The article quotes Duncan saying, “First of all, we can’t touch curriculum at our levels. Again, that is done at the local level. But encouraging states to have high standards, we think, is the right thing to do. And we know, when standards get dummied down, it’s not the elite kids, it’s not the advantaged kids, who get hit. It’s the more disadvantaged kids that always get hurt when things get reduced. And so fighting against that, driving an agenda around both equity and excellence, we think is hugely important.”
WHNT-TV Huntsville, AL (6/17) also covers Alexander’s “rare opportunity to pose a question to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.”
Gates Foundation Urges Delay On “High-Stakes” Common Core Decisions
The New York Times (6/11, Rich, Subscription Publication) reports that The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a “strong backer” of the Common Core standards, “has called for a two-year moratorium on states or school districts making any high-stakes decisions based on tests aligned to the new standards.” While the standards were originally adopted by most states and backed by the Administration, they have now encountered serious opposition from teachers unions and parent groups.
The Washington Post (6/11, Layton) reports that the Gates Foundation said that states and districts “should hold off from using new standardized tests aligned to the Common Core to evaluate teachers, promote students and make other high-stakes decisions.” According to a statement from the foundation’s Vicki Phillips, “teachers and students need more time to adjust to the standards and the new tests.”
Andrew Ujifusa writes at the Education Week (6/11) “State EdWatch” blog that Phillips said that “while the common core is having a very positive impact on education, that doesn’t mean teachers and schools shouldn’t be given more time to adjust.”
TIME (6/11) also covers this story, noting that the National Education Association approved of the Gates Foundation’s position. The Washington Post (6/11, Strauss) “Answer Sheet” blog also covers this story.
Projects Aim To Collect Best Common Core Lessons
NPR (6/5, Kamenetz) reports in its “NprEd” blog that “reading and digesting” the Common Core Standards and “determining what lessons best fulfill them is a big, big job” for educators, and describes the controversy surrounding reports on “a few pieces of math homework that weren’t, frankly, particularly high quality, or necessarily well-aligned.” The piece contrasts these reports with projects such as EQUIP (Educators Evaluating Quality Instructional Products), which is an effort “to independently review and rate individual high-quality Core-aligned lessons and make them easier to find.”
California Elementary Students Embrace Common Core Math
NPR’s Morning Edition (5/27) broadcast a segment on how students at a California elementary school are adapting to the Common Core Standards. The piece describes the students as not being intimidated by new methods for solving two-digit multiplication problems, and attempts to portray the new methods. The piece concludes that though many adults “struggle” with the new methods, “these kids seem surprisingly eager and willing to embrace something new.” A transcript of this segment can be seen here. (5/28, Bess)
Common Core’s Focus On Nonfiction Text Raises Concerns
The Baltimore Sun (4/28, Bowie) reports that one facet of the debate over the Common Core is the increased focus on “reading nonfiction,” noting that some critics argue that this would “lead to a reduction in students’ exposure to great literature.” The piece reports, however, that the National Council of English Teachers says that “the switch doesn’t mean reading good fiction in English classes will be diminished.”