The worldwide market has few boundaries. Thus Utah's businesses and workforce must be able to compete globally. For this reason, the Legislature, employers and parents are demanding that our education system benchmark its objectives against international competitors. They also demand a more rigorous curriculum.
To address these concerns, parents, teachers, school administrators and experts from across the country joined with state leaders to develop a clear set of standards that each state can use as a framework for improving education. In 2009, the Utah State Board of Education and the Governor agreed to join 48 states to produce the Common Core State Standards for mathematics and English-language arts.
Utah joined the Common Core initiative because we want standards to ensure that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success. These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers and help ensure that students receive a high quality education consistently, from school to school. They also provide a greater opportunity for teachers and administrators to share experiences and best practices. Common Core Standards are:
- Aligned with college and work expectations
- Include rigorous content
- Informed by top performing countries such as Singapore
- Evidence-based
- Clear, understandable, and consistent
- Build upon the strengths of Utah’s current education standards
Based on misinformation, some legislators and parents have expressed concern about the Common Core being the result of the federal government meddling in Utah’s education policy. The Governor and I believe that the education of Utah’s children is the responsibility of Utah—not the federal government. However, it’s important to understand that the Common Core Standards were not developed by the federal government, nor has the federal government been involved at any step along the process. This is a state-led initiative, and Utah joined without any strings attached. We can opt out at anytime, or we can adapt the standards to fit our needs and values. The fear is that the Common Core will impose on Utah schools the obligation to teach values and lifestyles we don't agree with. That won’t happen on our watch.
I have read the Common Core. It does not discuss, let alone mandate, any moral or political positions, values or lifestyle considerations. The Common Core, while very comprehensive, simply states milestones for students, for instance, by the end of 3rd grade the student will be able to form and use irregular verbs, or explain equivalent fractions. Common Core Standards are an exhaustive list of skills and competencies. The texts, the lessons, the values, the methods by which teachers convey and help our students develop these competencies will be chosen, as they always have been, by Utah's schools and parents.
Recently I had a conversation with the founder and CEO of one of the world’s leading IT companies. He told me that in order for Utah to continue to attract more high-paying jobs, we must do better in educating our children. The Utah Common Core standards are a major step along this path.
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Borg'ing Education via Common Core
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The Borg was an alien species that threatened the existence of the Federation in the TV show Star Trek. Their race assimilated other races into their collective through hardwired neurological attachments that would reach deep into the mind. Their belief was that central control would raise efficiency. The result was a total loss of individuality and independent thought. What is happening in the education system in this country is very much a parallel to this threat.
Lt. Governor Bell recently praised the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), but there are several important things he and others need to realize.
While the math standards themselves are pretty good, the notion that these are not national standards is inaccurate. When you have national organizations (National Governor’s Association and Chief State School Officers) collaborating to create one set of standards, you have de facto national standards.
The claim that the federal government isn’t involved in these standards is laughable. They bribed states to adopt the standards with Race to the Top grants (which would only be available for a handful of states) IF they adopted CCSS. Now, several states have sought waivers on No Child Left Behind’s annual yearly progress and the federal DOE is telling them, “we’ll grant you a waiver, IF you adopt ‘career and college ready standards’ (hint: Common Core).” Why were the Feds so interested in bribing states to get on CCSS even before a final draft was ready? They aren’t involved in this, right?
Why would Lt. Governor Bell say that Utah can adapt the standards to meet our needs and values when we aren’t allowed to modify the standards at all, except to add 15% more to them? How can he say these aren’t national standards?
If the federal government really isn’t taking over education, why have they put millions of dollars into creating assessments with organizations like SBAC, PARRC, and Achieve?
If the federal government isn’t nationalizing education, why have they mandated that states create a database to federally mandated standards to track children on 40 vital factors such as a child’s blood type, what time they get on the bus in the morning, the number of cavities in their mouths, what their religious affiliation is, family voting status, etc…? This is a total invasion of privacy. Is anyone concerned about this?
If the federal government isn’t taking over education, why have they been rewriting the laws at the federal level to strip away state and local control of education and make it look like they’ve always had legal control of education?
Can anyone not imagine the Feds soon telling the states they’ll get no federal funds for education (or perhaps ANY funds) unless they adopt this entire package? Everything is coming together for total federal control and we are embracing the Borg collective! It’s the end of individualism.
The solution isn’t found in joining the collective. It’s found in a return to true local control and giving parents MORE responsibility and authority for their children’s education. Each time we remove authority and responsibility from parents over their God-given mandate to teach their children, their interest and involvement lessens because they know, “the schools are going to educate my child.” Until we put the burden back on parents for their child’s success, education will continue to decline.
Links to the above points can be found here: http://www.utahsrepublic.org/dropping-the-common-core-state-standards/
Also, what will Utah do if/when Utah doesn't like the Common Core but the federal government requires us to adopt it or forfeit federal funds for education?