Via Heritage Foundation,
A bundle of federal incentives encouraged 45 states to adopt Common Core national standards and tests. But a new poll shows that most Americans have no idea what the Common Core is—even though it will have major ramifications for their children and their tax dollars.
Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup have just released their 45th annual poll on the Americans’ attitude toward public education. According to the poll:
- 62 percent of Americans have never heard of the Common Core;
- Among those who said they have heard of Common Core, most said they were only “somewhat knowledgeable”;
- Among those who said they have heard of Common Core, less than half thought the standards would make the U.S. more competitive internationally; and
- Most of those who are familiar with Common Core “neither understand it nor embrace it.”
The PDK poll is another indication of how little public input there has been in the Common Core push.
Politicians and national standards proponents didn’t want public input. The final version of the standards were released on June 2, 2010 and Michigan adopted them on June 15, 2010. Now three years later, state officials and others tell us retreating from Common Core not an option because too much time and money is invested.
Stuff and nonsense!
How much time and money was spent on the previous standards and the state school board deliberated only 13 days before abandoning them for the unproven and untested Common Core. In fact, the Fordham Institute rated our previous math standards higher than the math standards in the Common Core. This isn’t about a higher standard but about outsourcing education. Using terms like “state-led” proponents intentionally confused the public and cleverly disguised the true intent of Common Core.
But parents and taxpayers are catching on to the political tricks and rhetorical slight of hand. “State-led” is not state controlled. Common Core is a nationalized, top-down centralized approach to education that outsources education to unelected DC bureaucrats.
It’s not too late to stop Common Core in Michigan. Thanks to a budget vote last spring, the funding for the implementation of Common Core was paused to give lawmakers the summer to get informed. (Most of them didn’t know what Common Core was either!).
Now is the time to act. Call your state lawmakers and tell them you want to permanently Stop Common Core in Michigan.