The latest TIME magazine offers a brief article on the national debate surrounding Common Core standards for public schools.
Should every eighth-grader know how to apply the Pythagorean theorem? Should fifth-graders be multimedia-savvy? Should third-graders be able to write opinion pieces? Forty-five states thought so when their officials approved a uniform set of learning benchmarks, known as the Common Core State Standards, in recent years. But now many states are second-guessing that decision thanks to a backlash by conservatives who say the guidelines represent a federal takeover of education.
Of course, the objections to Common Core standards have nothing to do with the Pythagorean theorem, multimedia savvy, or elementary-level writing skills. For a better understanding of the reasons why Common Core leaves much to be desired, it might help to revisit Terry Stoops’ work here, here, and here.
