Editorial
The Oklahoman
GOV. Mary Fallin used part of her State of the State speech to applaud efforts to improve education in Oklahoma. She saluted the principal and students at U.S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City, where a remarkable academic turnaround has occurred in recent years.
“To support students and teachers like these, we’re also working on increasing rigor in classrooms and raising standards to levels required by colleges and also employers,” Fallin said, alluding to the Common Core State Standards.
“In 2010, the Legislature voted to adopt new, higher standards in English and math, and those new Oklahoma standards will be fully implemented this year,” she said. “The new standards focus on critical thinking — the kind of skills our children need to get a job or to succeed in higher levels of education. While we are raising those standards, we aren’t telling teachers how to teach that lesson or what books to use. These are decisions that will always be made locally.
“And here’s the payoff: We will start graduating seniors that are truly ready for the workforce and for college or a career technology education.”
These words were spoken on Feb. 3. Today, Common Core is headed to the scrap heap, rejected by lawmakers who want to replace it with standards to be developed by the State Board of Education. Fallin, meantime, made hardly a peep as this program, so important to her just two months ago, was shown the exit.
We (conservatives) are so wrong on this. We pass standards and then when everyone starts complaining that “Julie and Johnny” are getting stressed out then we back off of standards. At least common core was a start. What a mess we have created.
I agree – Common Core may not be perfect – but matbe it’ll get the educators off their butts and create some meaningful standards.