Another step towards Common Core Standards . . .

Here is yet another strategy to support implementation of the Common Core Standards Initiative. The Gates Foundation is giving the national PTA $1 million to promote adoption of the standards beginning in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and North Carolina. The states were chosen because of their ability to mobilize behind a cause, but the effort could extend to other states by the middle of next year. Here is the announcement on the PTA site.

We can now add this partnership to the attachment of the standards as a condition for qualifying for federal stimulus grant money and the courting of the national teacher organizations to see a formidable campaign forming. Acceptance of the standards by states, however, will be balanced by the significant investment that each has in their own standards and required assessments. It will be interesting to see who prevails. Currently, my money, if I were a betting man, would be with the core standard movement.

So what? Why do I keep posting updates? Well, I am concerned as I have shared before with the potential for another shift in focus and the necessary alignment process. This process takes time and resources and we have been required to do it multiple times already as our state standards have changed over time. The implementation of our Classroom 10 initiative that will shift our focus to instructional practice will be influenced by this potential change in standards because it assumes an aligned curriculum. We are also seeing the need, without the necessary funds, for new secondary math resources to align with the recently revised state standards. Do we purchase resources that best align with these standards when they may be replaced by the core standards after one year of use?

There are other questions that cause us concern as we consider the implications of this significant shift in focus. Will the federal standards, once developed, remain in place for an extended period of time or will they, like our state standards, experience expensive revisions after only a few years? Will the other content areas follow the initial math and language arts standards, and if yes, when? We want to use our resources wisely and not continue to repeat processes over time so we must continue to monitor this process. Who knows, maybe my concerns will amount to nothing when the standards are released and we find that they are aligned with those in our state. We can hope. Or, perhaps our state will choose to maintain autonomy and forego the opportunities for federal and private money to support change. Maybe something similar to what Texas may do as is shown in this Flypaper post. Here is the letter from a Texas commissioner to a legislator.

Dear Senator Cornyn:

I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding recent efforts by the U. S. Department of Education (USDE) to adopt a national curriculum and testing system in the United States. This effort can be seen as a step toward a federal takeover of the nation’s public schools.
As you are likely aware, a number of entities that develop and market education assessments and materials and several non-profits have banded together in an effort they have named the “Common Core Standards Initiative.” I believe that the true intention of this effort is to establish one set of national education standards and national tests across the country. Originally sold to states as voluntary, states have now been told that participation in national standards and national testing would be required as a condition of receiving federal discretionary grant funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) administered by the USDE. The effort has now become a cornerstone of the Administration’s education policy through the USDE’s prioritization of adoption of national standards and aligned national tests in receiving federal funds. The Secretary of Education has already reserved $650 million of ARRA funds for the production of these national tests.

In short, because Texas has chosen to preserve its sovereign authority to determine what is appropriate for Texas children to learn in its public schools, the state is now placed at a serious disadvantage in competing for its share of ARRA discretionary funding. Billed by Secretary Duncan as the “Race to the Top,” (RTTT) it appears that the USDE is placing its desire for a federal takeover of public education above the interests of the 4.7 million schoolchildren in the state of Texas by setting two different starting lines - one for nearly every other state in the country and one for Texas.

Texas has consistently maintained that states should retain their authority to determine the curriculum and testing requirements for their students. The elected Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) sets the standards Texas students are supposed to meet for each subject taught in the public school system. Texas law requires the direct participation of educators, parents, business and industry representatives, and employers in the development of the standards. Through this process, Texas has recently adopted college-ready math, English language arts, and science standards and will soon complete work on the social studies standards. The state has purchased new textbooks, created targeted professional development for our teachers, and developed new assessments aligned with these new standards. Joining the national standards and national testing movement would require Texas taxpayers to re-spend at least $3 billion.

If the USDE has its way, Texas’ process, along with every other state that has a similar process, will be negated. With the release of the RTTT application, it is clear that the first step toward nationalization of our schools has been put into place. I do not believe that the requirements will end with the RTTT; I believe that USDE will utilize the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to further the administration’s federal takeover of public schools, including withholding billions of dollars from our disadvantaged and special education students.

Ronald Reagan once said, “I believe a case can be made that the decline in the quality of public school education began when federal aid to education became federal interference in education.” Having the federal government use Washington-based special interest groups and vendors as proxy for the USDE in setting national curriculum standards and then using ARRA federal discretionary funds to develop national tests for every child in the nation represents unprecedented intrusiveness by the federal government into the personal lives of our children and their families.

I encourage and invite you to stand with me against national curriculum standards and national tests. The authority to determine what students in our public schools should learn properly resides with states, local school boards and parents. The federal government should not be engaging in activity that seeks to undermine our ability to determine what will be taught in our schools.

Sincerely,
Robert ScottTexas Commissioner of Education