Critics Of Common Core Standards Mobilize In Capitol For Hearings

Critics of Wisconsin’s newly implemented educational standards crowded an informational hearing today at the State Capitol.

The Common Core State Standards for Math and English Language Arts were adopted in 2010. Forty-four other states also use the standards.

Opposition to the standards has been growing nationally. Some educators disagree on implementation, while some Republicans say the standards take away local control and are an effort to nationalize education.

Karen Schroeder is a retired Minnesota school teacher and president of Advocates for Academic Freedom. She told Senate and Assembly education panel members today that her main concern with the standards is federal overreach.

“The efforts of the federal government to establish standards results in a de facto national curriculum and instructional materials that will in effect be supervised, directed, or controlled by the federal Department of Education. If we are people of laws, should these violations be reason enough to reject Common Core? ”

But Kathleen Porter-Magee disagrees. She’s the senior director of high quality standards at the Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank. Porter-Magee insists Common Core is not a federal program. She also says in Wisconsin, Common Core is much better than the previous standards.

“The Common Core are significantly clearer and more rigorous than the Wisconsin English Language Arts and Math standards they replaced. In fact, the gains that Wisconsin made by replacing its standards with the common core are among the largest in the nation.”

The Common Core State Standards were developed by a consortium of states, and participation is voluntary. However, the federal government has provided some financial incentives to participate through its Race to the Top program.