New York State is a hotbed of parent opposition to Common Core standards, but no one in charge in the state or in the city of New York seems aware of it. Governor Cuomo loves the Common Core, as does State Commissioner John King, most of the state Board of Regents, and the di Blasio administration. The conventional wisdom is that “the implementation was flawed,” but it may be more than implementation that is flawed. Can we really have “national standards” that are “rigorous” and “common?” The more rigorous they are, the bigger the achievement gaps. The more rigorous they are, the more failures there will be among children who are not doing well now. The idea that children will jump higher if the bar is raised doesn’t make sense. If they can’t clear a four-foot bar, they won’t clear a six-foot bar. Word on the street is that the state will report higher test scores, and this great accomplishment will happen by dropping the “cut score” or passing mark. At some point, the public or parents will wise up and realize that the passing rate is utterly arbitrary and depends on an arbitrary decision about where to set the cut scores.
Arthur Goldstein, a high school teacher in Queens in New York City, who blogs as “NYC Educator,” explains here why he does not like the Common Core standards.
“I don’t care how much PD is provided and how many CC-aligned lesson plans are sent along, I don’t want the Common Core. I don’t want test companies and data companies profiting off of the misery of little kids. I don’t want to teach to someone’s test today, tomorrow or ever, to save myself from professional annihilation–when I already know students living in poverty with language deficiencies and many special needs will never on average surpass the scores of children in wealthy suburbia.
“As I think about it, I am sure that America has not so much bought the Common Core as been handsomely paid to adopt it. As states begin to realize the federal morass in which they are now mired, I am sure many more will agitate for withdrawal…
“I have always believed education should be a reserved power, as the Founders intended. The states must be in the driver’s seat. I believe the closer education comes to the grassroots, the better it will serve community needs and our larger democracy. Our federal government already has enough business and thorny issues to keep it occupied. And, I am very worried about much of that business. Why would I want our federal government taking on even more? We are not communist and we are not a dictatorship. We do not need federal hands in every pie. In my mind, the Common Core is a recipe for one rotten pie and we would all do well to keep our hands and those of our children clear of it!”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“As states begin to realize the federal morass in which they are now mired, I am sure many more will agitate for withdrawal.”
That’s why the number one goal of the CCSS mafia right now is to spring the trap and make the cost of ditching national standards too high for states to contemplate. A few states may continue gnawing their legs off to get free, but the reformsters clearly hope most states have a lower pain threshold than that and will become obdeient house pets.
Lost in all of the talk about moratoriums and withdrawal is the plain and simple fact that all states are still bound by the ESEA – federal LAW. Until new legislation revises it or eliminates it, ESEA/NCLB/RTT is the law of the land. Permanent change can only come through Congressional action.
RTTT is not federal law. It is not the renewal of ESEA. CCSS is not part of NCLB. USDOE cannot pass an ESEA revision allowing USDOE to control academic standards unless it removes ESEA Subpart 2, section 9527– which IS law.
I keep reading this blog and get more and more upset. Now that we know all this information what can we DO about it? I see on this blog very few possible solutions to stop charters, stop testing, and stop overcrowding. What solid solutions can we all come up with. I have written to politicians, boycotted products or stores, and marched on picket lines. I have been very vocal in my community and have told people to read this blog so they can be informed about what is going on. Can we find a direction or solution to all of this?
It’s hard to come up against well-financed corporate reform. But it is not impossible. I research and write a lot on the exploitation of public education. What has started happening is that those in power– some who once thought they wanted the so-called reforms but now aren’t so sure– come to me for information. I am not in a position of political power, but I have information that those in power are now seeking.
That is my contribution. I expect no single “solution.” The issue is far more complex than “a direction” or “a solution.”
I totally agree with retired teacher. I, too, am a retired teacher. Everyone complains, but nothing is done about this mess. I’ve written my letters to no avail. I would say write more to Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. I have. We have to bring more exposure to it.
I agree with both of you. We need more people to be aware. I’m writing to my unions, also, because the silence there is deafening.
The National Education Association is in collusion with the corrupt reformers to end the profession of teaching and make it a two-year internship, similar to military service.
I have a court mediator’s statement describing how NEA-NM gave me bad legal advice – and the NEA has a big law firm that generates this stuff their agents then tell the members- apparently there is no 14th amendment in New Mexico – if you believe the NEA.
Really, all it takes is a governor who thinks teachers have it too easy to see the whole state ed system crash and burn. I am in deep grief. I still want to do my job teaching high school reading.
Mandating that all 5th-graders be at the same level of proficiency in math by a certain date makes about as much sense as mandating that all 5th-graders be exactly 5’4″ tall by a certain date. Who thinks this stupid stuff up?
Yeah, I know; Bill Gates.
Well, in that case, what does it mean to say that Johnny has passed fifth grade? is that just a chronological statement? It is naive to think that a school system can exist without standards. These standards may not come from Washington, but they will come from somewhere. If 10-year-olds in Tennessee are solving decimals and reading short works of fiction, while 10-year olds in Kentucky are struggling to handle fractions and are still learning the alphabet, somebody somewhere will take notice, and Kentucky will be under a lot of pressure to catch up.
Common Core–written in secret by test publishers, bought by the Gates Foundation–is not the only source of standards. Why should it be?
what happened to the de Blasio administration?? was it not hiring the school chancellor that was first choice?!
I agree that the problem is at the federal level. I would not want to go back to the old NH “standards” or the old NH tests. They were far worse that CCSS!
I also agree with retired teacher. It seems our whole society has a bad case of “borderline behavior” by saying lets test these kids to death but not give them the tools that they need nor the resources. I have a child who is Dyslexic and I will never allow him to take any of these tests again. I do not trust this system and do not trust the fact that they will create a secret “Data Mining” project again without parental consent. This country is slowly becoming very corrupt. It is unfortunate that things have come down to such a low level. I am truly saddened by the state of this country and the crumbling state of our educational system. These policy makers and our current and past President’s should be ashamed of themselves and if they are not they are in denial.
“To think that a new test or a new set of standards will really reform education is to think that a new kind of thermometer could somehow warm your living room.”
Professor Emeritus Jerome Harste from Indiana University
Wolf on Wall Street is a good example of people who run this country.
I am resigning before school starts and moving to Vietnam. My Dad had PTSD from war in that country, and now I have PTSD from the insanity of CCSS in the US.