The New York Times Buries the Real Story on Common Core

The New York Times posed this question in a recent story about the effects of Common Core in the 10 years since it was introduced: Did it fail, or does it just need more time to succeed? The easy answer is that Common Core was, is, and will remain a cancer on the American education system. But it’s an answer that has a lot of moving parts — mostly money changing hands. The Times article immediately gets it wrong in stating Common Core was rolled out by a bipartisan group of governors, education experts, and philanthropists. There may be a kernel of

U.S. Student Test Scores Plummet Again in Year 4 of Common Core

If there was any doubt that the Common Core standards have been harmful to American academic achievement, that doubt should be erased by the 2019 results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nation’s Report Card. NAEP results have been stagnant or declining since the full implementation of the standards was mandated in 2015. As stated by Joy Pullman at The Federalist: For the third time in a row since Common Core was fully phased in nationwide, U.S. student test scores on the nation’s broadest and most respected test have dropped, a reversal of an upward trend between 1990 and

Parent Fights Back After Common Core Math Publisher Sues to Silence Him

Blain Dillard, the Carey, N.C., parent in the Wake County School District that we wrote about several weeks ago who is being sued by a Common Core math curriculum company for speaking out against the Mathematics Vision Project (MVP), is now countersuing: A Cary parent who is being sued for libel and slander for criticizing a controversial math curriculum that’s being used in the Wake County Public School System has filed a countersuit against the Utah-based company, Mathematics Vision Project, also known as MVP.  Blain Dillard, a father of three, is asking that MVP pay his attorney’s fees and damages, anywhere from

More Voices Join the Chorus Against Social Emotional Learning

As alarm about the problems, dangers, and poor research related to social emotional learning (SEL) spreads, prominent new voices are entering the fray to speak against it. Bob Kellogg at One News Now recently discussed SEL’s harm to parental autonomy and the academic dilution it causes, while Max Eden, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote in National Review about the problematic SEL curriculum adopted by New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio for that city’s schools. The One News Now article referenced the op-ed that Jane Robbins and I wrote for The Federalist, based on our white paper for the

Common Core Math Publisher Sues Parent for Opposing Curriculum

According to a local report, the publisher of a controversial Common Core math curriculum used in the Wake County, N.C., public school district (WCPSS) is suing an individual parent for “libel and slander” as well as “tortuous interference” for vocally criticizing the district’s use of the curriculum he says has harmed the education of his son and many other students in the district. The Utah-based publisher, Mathematics Vision Project (MVP), claims that parent Blain Dillard acted with “reckless disregard” that has harmed the company, while Dillard claims he is “innocent of all allegations and can defend each and every point made

How States Can Fix Math Education Post-Common Core

As the evidence becomes clearer that experts and parents were right about Common Core being an academic disaster and not merely derailed by implementation problems, states must grapple with the hard work of revamping their education standards. Thanks to the excellent executive order of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida is deeply involved in doing just that. Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and perhaps other states will be soon starting the same process. Today we will discuss mathematics standards. These standards must be done right from the beginning because math is such a sequential discipline that, if they are poorly done, math education can

“Social Emotional Learning” Standards Continue Ominous National March

As chronicled in multiple articles (also here and here) and the Pioneer Institute white paper authored by attorney Jane Robbins and myself, efforts to impose government-determined norms for the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the nation’s children beginning in preschool are becoming disturbingly relentless. Despite lots of concerns by Ohio parents and pro-family state school board members, as well as troubling data provided by Education Liberty Watch, (summarized here) and activism by Eagle Forum and Concerned Women for America, the full Ohio state board adopted statewide SEL standards by an 11-6 vote. Although there were promises made that students, teachers,

Here’s What States Should Do to Really Get Rid of Common Core

At the end of last week’s column discussing yet another study demonstrating the colossal academic failure of the Common Core standards in math and English Language Arts (ELA), I said the following: All of this shows that the January 31st executive order of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to eliminate Common Core from the Sunshine State and the more recent decision by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to pursue the same goal are extremely important and correct. The Florida Stop Common Core Coalition, in consultation with multiple national experts, has just released a list of recommendations with detailed documentation to help both states achieve this critical and laudable goal. More details

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