USED Remains Hopelessly Committed to Standardized Testing

Leaping from triumph to triumph, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) has announced a new assessments grant program to follow its failed assessments grant program from six years ago.  Ed Week reports that USED will allow states to compete to get back a small chunk of money that was theirs in the first place (a total of $8.6 million), which cash can be used to “bolster their assessment systems.” Reminiscent of the infamous Race to the Top scheme, these competitive grants will be called Enhanced Assessment Grants. Last fall the Obama Administration tried to tamp down the boiling furor over

Kasich Isn’t for Local Control in Education

While in New Hampshire, Ohio Governor John Kasich told “Fox News Sunday” that he is “for total local control” when it comes to education. CNSNews.com reports: “I propose taking 104 federal education programs, putting them into four buckets and sending them to the states. I have been clear from the very beginning that I support high standards and local control. That’s exactly what we do in Ohio. Our state school board approves the standards, and the local school boards are the ones that create the curriculum,” Kasich said, adding, “I am for total local control.” That sounds great, but his

Earth to Chris Christie: New Jersey Didn’t Get Rid of Common Core

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) called out New Jersey Governor Chris Christie during the Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate for his support of Common Core. Christie replied and said, “And on Common Core, Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey.” Really? That’s fascinating. Christie has been a moving target on Common Core (Stop Common Core in North Carolina has a great timeline of his waffling on the issue). Needless to say, his change of heart has been and remains suspect when he refused to get rid of PARCC as an assessment when parents and many legislators in his state

Will Massachusetts Parents Reject Common Core at the Ballot Box?

When the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010, many questioned the logic behind that decision. Considering that Massachusetts had a history of outperforming every other state on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), the SAT, and international tests in math and English, it had a lot to lose by abandoning its proven system of standards and assessments. Five years later, that decision has cost Massachusetts quite a bit: The state’s SAT scores are the lowest in over a decade in every subject and elementary students’ performance on NAEP

The Common Core Report Card: Chris Christie Gets a D+

In our Common Core report card, we graded Chris Christie and all of the GOP candidates based on the three following criteria: fighting the Common Core, protecting state and local decision-making on education, and defending child and family privacy. Then we averaged the three grades together for one final grade. What does each grade mean? A … Champions the issue, e.g., offers legislation, makes it a centerpiece issue. B … Professes support, but has not provided leadership or otherwise championed it. C … Has neither helped nor hurt the cause. D … Has an overall negative record on the issue. F … Robustly and consistently works against

The Common Core Report Card: Bobby Jindal Gets a B+

In our Common Core report card, we graded Bobby Jindal and all of the GOP candidates based on the three following criteria: fighting the Common Core, protecting state and local decision-making on education, and defending child and family privacy. Then we averaged the three grades together for one final grade. What does each grade mean? A … Champions the issue, e.g., offers legislation, makes it a centerpiece issue. B … Professes support, but has not provided leadership or otherwise championed it. C … Has neither helped nor hurt the cause. D … Has an overall negative record on the issue. F … Robustly and consistently works against

Christie Sells Out New Jersey’s Students on Common Core

In a recent interview on CNN, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie argued that the “national teachers union” deserves a “punch in the face” because it is “not for education for our children” but is rather for “greater membership, greater benefits, greater pay for their members.” But how does that statement square with Christie’s actions as governor? Here’s his recent explanation as to why his state adopted the national Common Core Standards: “We signed on to try to get funds during a really difficult fiscal time.” Until recently, he had been an ardent supporter of the Common Core.  In 2013 he was

Chris Christie Dumps Common Core…Sort Of

Well, it’s official.  With a shrug and a “it’s simply not working,” Chris Christie has announced plans to dump the Common Core State Standards, The Washington Post reports: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who brought the Common Core State Standards to his state and loudly defended them as recently as 2013, said Thursday that “it simply is not working” and that he wants new academic standards. Christie, whose animus toward the K-12 academic standards has grown alongside his presidential ambitions, said in a speech at Burlington County College that he will appoint a state commission to review the standards “point

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