Is Common Core Coming or Going?

A little over three years ago I wrote an entry in this blog about Common Core State Standards, and their soon to be implementation.  There seems to be just as much controversy and political discourse now surrounding Common Core as there was three years ago.

In the last year there have been many articles written about the criticisms of Common Core in North Carolina, and the subsequent law signed by Governor McCrory tasking the Academic Standards Review Commission to review the standards.  A preliminary report was released this week, and the final report will be coming by the end of the year.

An August 15, 2015 article in The News and Observer of Raleigh first got my renewed attention to the controversy.  As I was reading the article, I did a little research about the history of the commission.  I came across an NPR story from January 14, 2015 which reviewed some of the history and initial controversy and conversation that led to the creation of the commission by Governor McCrory.  Finally, The News and Observer reported on the preliminary results of the commission on August 17, 2015.

As I mentioned above, I wrote a blog three years ago not just about Common Core, but supporting Common Core.  Three years later, I still believe the Common Core State Standards have merit and value.  Are they perfect?  No.  Do there need to be adjustments?  Probably.  Should we ditch them and start over?  No.

The implementation of Common Core left much to be desired.  Schools did not have the resources and teachers did not have sufficient training.  Districts were left scrambling.  I wonder if some of the controversy surrounding Common Core should be targeted at the implementation of the standards, rather than the standards themselves.

Have students struggled following the implementation of Common Core?  Absolutely, as the standards include increased rigor and expectations for students and teachers.  Did student achievement data initially decrease?  Yes.  But as time goes on, as teacher understanding of the standards increase, we should see improved instruction and increased student achievement.

So where do we go from here?  One of my biggest issues with many education initiatives is that they are implemented without fidelity.  We often scrap programs at the first sign of controversy or struggle.  When it's obvious a program isn't working, then it should be scrapped.  But in the case of Common Core, we need to give it time to work, for the standards to take root, and for students and teachers to grow while adjusting to the new standards.  Slight changes and tweaks are necessary.  We need to resist the temptation of a massive overhaul for the time being, and see what growth occurs over the next couple of years.