Teachers and parents have expressed several complaints regarding the implementation of the Common Core standards. Fighting the Common Core will slow down the advancement of our education system.
According to a Newsday editorial, these complaints are causing a moratorium of the Common Core standards:
State Education Department Commissioner John B. King Jr. is standing firm on implementation of new academic standards. But the allies who helped him adopt the new curriculum, testing and teacher evaluations law -- members of the state Board of Regents and leaders in the State Senate and Assembly -- are now defecting as they confront a grassroots revolt.
Their fear has them saying implementation must be slowed or postponed. In fact, most of these changes can't be slowed or postponed. The only alternative would be outright reversal. And none of the critics have provided a good plan to teach and test the students, and evalute the teachers, if the Common Core policies are reversed.
The editorial goes on to argue that the Common Core is the first step towards improving the education system and should not be slowed down:
After 11/2 school years with Common Core, there is, in most cases, no reason to go back or slow down. Giving the tests but not evaluating teachers on them would be a step in the wrong direction, and a violation of what the state promised the federal government it would do in return for $700 million in grant money.
Even worse, slowing or halting Common Core and standards-based evaluations would slow the movement toward the education system our kids need. That's the goal, even if it isn't the most popular topic in this fight.
