The Common Core curriculum has been adopted in New York State and in other states across the country. As the first New York State test scores using the Common Core curriculum are released this week, there will be a drop in reading and math proficieny standards.
According to a guest opinion writer for the New York Daily News, everyone shares the blame for allowing New York students to be held to inadequate educational standards prior to the adoption of the Common Core:
"With the harsh reality of test results, there is a tendency to blame educational failures on teachers (or their unions), administrators, elected officials, economic deprivation or even the tests themselves. In fact, we all share responsibility for the failures of public education and it is time to face up to how far our country has fallen behind those societies around the world where education is the top priority. Our state was right to adopt the higher standards of the Common Core as the first step in restoring American education to its former greatness."
Even with the impending poor scores, NYC's next mayor must not dismiss the Common Core curriculum for the sake of winning votes:
"The timing of the Common Core test results becoming public could not be worse. There is no doubt that candidates competing in the city's primary and general elections will be tempted to use this as a reason to advance the interests of groups that have been critical of mayoral control and other reforms that have positioned the schools system to make real progress."
