INDIANA: FIRST STATE TO DUMP COMMON CORE
ublic education has seen a steady decline in quality over the past few decades. More spending at the state and federal levels, legislation such as No Child Left Behind and now Common Core has made a bad system even worse.
In fact, Common Core is so bad citizens are protesting to let elected officials know they aren’t happy about these “new and improved” education standards:
Fortunately, legislators in one Midwest state heard the protests of their constituents loud and clear, and did the will of the people. Governor Mike Pence signed SB-91 into law, which will drop Common Core from Indiana educational standards.
According to NWI Times, the legislation requires the state board of education to adopt, by July 1st, college and career-ready standards that are “the highest standards in the United States” and “maintain Indiana sovereignty.” However, this measure by itself may not make a clean break from Common Core.
The bill also states that Indiana must qualify for a federal waiver from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements and align with college entrance exams, which will soon be aligned with the Common Core standards.
This new law is still a significant reversal in policy. Former Governor Mitch Daniels (R) and former state superintendent of education Tony Bennett were both strong supporters of Common Core. Before Common Core was approved, Indiana had completed a revision of existing educational standards, and the math and English Language arts standards were rated higher than Common Core.
Indiana has already pulled out of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), its Common Core testing consortium. The issue is now what testing standards will replace PARCC; and this debate is far from over among grassroots Common Core opponents.
Although 45 states and the District of Columbia still use the Common Core standards, this bold move by Indiana is encouraging. The cost for states to implement Common Core has been higher than expected. Anti-American and sexually explicit content has shocked parents and teachers alike.
It’s obvious that Common Core doesn’t improve the quality (or decency) of public education. Let’s hope this bold legislation in Indiana spreads like wildfire across the country.
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http://americanprosperity.com/indiana-first-state-to-dump-common-core/