Opinion: Common Core Critics Need a Better Solution
The Common Core standards raise the educational bar for New York students, better preparing them for college-level work and decent-paying jobs. While Common Core opponents have sternly criticized the initiative, they have failed to provide a superior alternative for New York education.
An opinion piece in the New York Daily News urges New York citizens to support the Common Core until there is a better solution for education reform:
We welcome debate over the Common Core, but the facts are clear: New York, to its credit, has opted to set a higher bar for student learning. Opponents have an obligation to say what they would do instead. Settle for yesterday’s weak standards and today’s lackluster performance?
If someone offers a better option, we will support it. If states choose to use flexibility built into the Common Core to improve their standards even more, we will support that, too.
In the meantime, however, something very promising is on the table. Attention and energy should go into devising the best way to put it into practice in New York. New York made a choice for the better when it adopted the Common Core. It must not turn back now, especially under pressure from a few loud opponents without a better plan.
