Hearings begin tomorrow in Lansing to decide the fate of Common Core in Michigan. Lori Higgins, education writer at the Detroit Free Press thinks this should have been a “slam dunk.”
Michigan’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards, a set of learning goals embraced by 44 other states in the nation, should have been a slam dunk given the widespread support that exists in the state.
But the standards, which for the first time provide common expectations of what students should learn from one state to the next in math and English language arts, are coming under increasing attack in Michigan and elsewhere in the country.
What is not mentioned in this article is that the final version of the standards were released in June of 2010 and hastily adopted on June 15, 2010 by Michigan State Board of Education. What Higgins calls an “attack” is really an evaluation and debate that should have taken place 3 years ago. Wisely, state lawmakers halted the funding for implementation of the Common Core so that Michigan lawmakers, parents, and teachers can learn exactly what the Common Core and decide if they are right for Michigan’s schools.
Representative Tom McMillin expressed confidence about the outcome of the hearings.
“I’m very confident that if we have honest debates over these next couple of months and we hear from the grass roots and the people that are affected, the Legislature will decide … to stop the funding permanently,”
Governor Rick Snyder and state Superintendent Mike Flanagan both support Common Core.
“The common core actually came from the governors,” Snyder said during a May event. “It was the governors of the states getting together … to say we want to partner at the national level and all levels to say, Let’s raise the bar, let’s partner together so we can have a better system of education.”
Don’t be fooled by Governor Snyder’s rhetoric. “State-led” is NOT “state controlled.” The standards are owned and copyrighted by the NGA and the CCSSO. By agreement, Michigan cannot modify them except to add up to 15% of new material. It is still mystery while both leaders want to cede their leadership role in Michigan education to the NGA and the CCSSO.
McMillin said Michigan should develop its own college and career readiness standards, but he said he has overall concerns about the amount of testing students are being subjected to.
“We should retain our authority, and be able to debate these issues in Lansing,” McMillin said.
Rep. McMillin is absolute correct. Troy resident and Co-director to Stop Common Core in Michigan, Deborah DeBacker agrees.
“We don’t like the fact that the state board of education signed a contract giving away their right to govern,”