The Mystery Meat and Unanswered Questions about Common Core



I have personally sat down to meet with and discuss the common core standards with school board members, superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, teachers, older students, fellow parents, Senators and Representatives in two different states, Colorado & Oklahoma.

What gets me so frustrated is the fact that none of these people I have listed above have EVER been able to give me a single answer or direct response to many very specific questions. Below is a small sample of some of the questions I have asked and continue to ask with little to no response. These are suggested questions you as a parent or teacher can utilize when discussing the education reform for 2014. Common core might be the most controversial topic most people have NEVER heard about.

Question # 1 – If these new common core standards are in fact so great for our schools then why are teachers and administrators not able to openly discuss them without fear of losing their jobs?

Question # 2 – Considering these standards were adopted back in 2009/2010, why are they still unannounced in 2013/2014 and approximately 65% of parents and even teachers have never heard the words common core? Why if they are so much better than our previous standards are educational leaders NOT promoting and advertising them and instead are secretly implementing them?

Question # 3- If standards do not drive curriculum then why are the major textbooks companies such as McGraw-Hill & Pearson Publishing, as well as, software companies such as Microsoft rewriting ALL of the textbooks and software programs to align with common core standards? Why can’t we just use the current textbooks and computer programs already available? Why waste millions of dollars on new curriculum if these are just standards? And how do you expect students to pass the assessments and/or tests if you do not teach the specific contents that will be on the end of instruction (EOI) exams? Especially if the teachers entire evaluation depends on it?

Question # 4 – If we still have local control and if these standards are truly “state-led” then why when I meet with my local administrators do they tell me “Their hands are tied. This is a mandate. They DO NOT have any choice; it is a law, they MUST abide?” Why can’t I get answers to my questions from these higher level administrators or state board members? If we give up our local and state power in exchange for Race to the Top (RTTT) federal grants and No Child Left Behind Waivers (NCLB), what happens 2-3 years from now when the system fails our children? What is our recourse? Are you willing to take that big of a risk with an entire future generation of children for one expensive experiment?

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html

Question # 5 – Why would any state continue to choose to implement standards that two educational experts on the validation committee refused to sign off on? (James Milgram and Sandra Stotsky) 

http://www.uaedreform.org/sandra-stotsky/ 

http://parentsacrossamerica.org/james-milgram-on-the-new-core-curriculum-standards-in-math/

http://www.nas.org/articles/Common_Core_Standards_Miss_the_Mark

Question # 6 – Are students only considered successful if they attend college? What about the entrepreneur or business owner, the military helicopter pilot, and how about the local farmer that farms 400 acres? Are these people not successful? Why did Bill Gates himself drop out of college? In fact, recently he only received an honorary college degree based on his business efforts back in 2007 NOT his college coursework. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-03-22-gates-harvard-degree_n.htm

Question # 7 – As an administrator how many teachers have you currently evaluated and observed in the classroom in order to see how the current implementation of these standards is going?

Question # 8 - What specific data is being collected and submitted on our children? Who is this data being submitted to and how often is it submitted? And through what kind of computer program? Why would any type of data ever need to leave the local school building? What is the purpose of sending my child’s data off to anyone besides the local school district? How will the State Longitudinal Database System (SLDS) be utilized in reporting this information to a National Database such as Federal EdFacts Exchange and/or the National (EIMAC) Education Information Management Advisory Consortium of (CCSSO) Council of Chief State School Officers? http://www.ccsso.org/resources/programs/education_information_management_advisory_consortium_(eimac).html

Question # 9 – Many attributes of learning CAN NOT be measured by any type of quantifiable or qualitative data so evaluating a teacher solely off of one End of Instruction (EOI) exam or test score simply cannot be justified. Don’t you feel as though teachers and students are more valuable than any single test score? Would any type of test ever show a teacher or student’s creativity, leadership, compassion, responsibility, resilience, teamwork, self-control, perseverance, honesty, ambition, etc? Aren’t we missing some of the most important qualities if we only measure academics and disregard evaluating the character traits?

Question # 10 – Here is the Webster Dictionary definition of rigor:

 rig·or

noun \ˈri-gər\

rigors: the difficult and unpleasant conditions or experiences that are associated with something

: the quality or state of being very exact, careful, or strict

Bottom of Form

Full Definition of RIGOR

1 a (1):  harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment:  severity (2) :  the quality of being unyielding or inflexible :  strictness (3) :  severity of life :  austerity

   b:  an act or instance of strictness, severity, or cruelty

2:  a tremor caused by a chill

3:  a condition that makes life difficult, challenging, or uncomfortable; especially:  extremity of cold

4:  strict precision:  exactness <logical rigor>

Is “rigor” really what we want for our students? Does this sound like an educationally nurturing environment that will motivate a young child or any child to want to learn? Does it inspire or create a positive approach for teachers to utilize their passion for teaching?

Question # 11 – What is the final budget and cost to us as taxpayers in order to implement the technology infrastructure, purchase software, initiate IT and technology databases, textbooks, professional development, etc.? What are the ongoing costs to maintain these upgrades?

Question # 12 - How many field tests do students take? When and in what grades? I keep running into this spin on words, such as mandated, but yet NOT mandatory. So what tests and standards are mandated and yet NOT actually mandatory for graduation? How do parents go about opting their children out of mandated but NOT mandatory field tests? What is the process? Where can we get an opt-out form?

Question # 13 - How much time have you personally spent reviewing these standards prior to them being implemented?

Question # 14 – Which played the most important role in adopting these so-called higher standards?

A.      Oklahoma receiving Race to the Top Federal Grant $Money$ and No Child Left Behind Waivers

B.      A very thorough investigation and review into these higher academic standards as a solid educational tool

Question # 15 – Again if these are “state-led” then why did states get bribed to adopt them before they were even written? And why are specific individuals of a private organization, Achieve.org, taking credit for writing National Standards? And more importantly why are they also a copyrighted public policy under FEDERAL LAW with alarming disclaimers and limited liability?

 http://www.achievethecore.org/about-us

http://www.corestandards.org/public-license

Please do your children a favor by asking deeper questions about these new standards. Dig past the surface layer, ask the tough questions, and pay close attention to what your children are learning in school. Ask to see the portfolio of schoolwork that the teacher is expected to keep on every single student (yes the same schoolwork that may or may not be coming home depending on how much time your teacher has to make copies.)  I have learned to trust my gut instincts, when something does not seem quite right, when my intuition can’t pinpoint something, and red flags loom, I look into them…no matter how big or small it might seem. I was shocked to discover it was not the teacher’s fault, it was not my child’s fault, it was not the principal, the school, or even the district…what I discovered was this new education reform and a national curriculum called common core.

I am grateful to be invited to put my efforts into written editorials in order to share my current/previous experiences and my lack of answers.