Opinion
Federal Opinion

Common-Core Momentum Is Still in Jeopardy

By Rick Dalton — December 04, 2012 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The re-election of President Barack Obama has many proponents of standards-based education reform feeling a strong sense of relief. The president has been a long-term advocate for the national adoption of the Common Core State Standards, which bring continuity to what’s taught in every classroom and expected of students nationwide. Developed by a diverse group of stakeholders in order to level the academic playing field, the standards are particularly important to students from low-income families who will now be expected to meet the same academic goals as their more affluent peers. But those of us who support the idea of standards shouldn’t rest now. It is my belief that the vision of national learning standards is in jeopardy.

For starters, despite the president’s support of the common core, the administration’s No Child Left Behind Act waivers that allow individual states to set moving proficiency targets for struggling students are counter to the standards’ objectives. And although 46 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the standards, the challenges facing many urban and rural schools that serve large numbers of low-income students make implementation an uphill battle.

BRIC ARCHIVE

As the president of College for Every Student, a nonprofit that’s committed to improving college readiness for some 20,000 students from lower-income families, I hope we can keep the standards effort on track. While our organization works hard to provide mentors, offer leadership training, and boost college aspirations for middle and high school students, we know this will only take them so far. Together, we must ensure that all students do the work needed to achieve authentic classroom success that can carry them to college and beyond.

Among the possible stumbling blocks on the road to common-core implementation are the peripatetic lives of some of our nation’s most vulnerable students. Many move through several school districts and school buildings in the course of their K-12 education. According to a 2005 study from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, more than 50 percent of children in poverty move every year of elementary school. These students need what they are missing the most: continuity. The subject matter they’re expected to learn during the first half of 8th grade in one district must be in sync with what will be expected of them in the second half of the year in another district. While constancy of curriculum may seem like common sense, it hasn’t been common practice.

Together, we must ensure that all students do the work needed to achieve authentic classroom success that can carry them to college and beyond."

The implementation of standards is critical for youngsters growing up in poverty because of a more limited exposure to language. Studies show that, by the age of 4, these children have heard an average of 30 million fewer words spoken than students from middle-class families. And instead of lowering expectations for them, we need to double down on our classroom efforts to ensure they, too, graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills that prepare them for life success. This will only happen if they’re expected to perform to the same standards as their peers.

The key reason I support the implementation of the common standards is my organization’s experience: We’ve seen firsthand the impact that high expectations can have on students who face economic hardship. We have our own de facto core standards for our students, with clear and decisive metrics that are consistent for every child.

We expect our cohort, in addition to having mentors, to mentor other students: All of our students are expected to serve others, with the goal of improving their schools and their communities. This commitment develops leadership skills, personal aspirations, and resilience that lead to college success.

And while we focus a great deal of effort on creating opportunities for our students to gain access to college, we also place emphasis on ensuring that they’re prepared to succeed once they arrive. We speak about the value and importance of the standards to our students, and we encourage their buy-in. We also continue to urge the 200 schools we work with to embrace the standards. We believe that local, sustained commitment will ultimately determine the common core’s success.

We work with community leaders in the towns where our students live to ensure their understanding of the standards’ importance and the role the standards can play in preparing young people for their academic and professional lives once they leave high school. We encourage community leaders to work with teachers, sharing the skills and knowledge they know students will need to be successful. Not surprisingly, business leaders from some of the nation’s biggest employers, including General Electric, IBM, Boeing, Disney World, Apple, and Intel, have echoed the same message.

BRIC ARCHIVE

This July at the Business and Education Summit in Orlando, Fla., Bob Corcoran, the chairman and president of the GE Foundation, noted, “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get this right—to adopt the common core for college and career readiness in all of America’s schools.”

Let’s keep the momentum going. Let’s ensure that all teachers, students, and families embrace the common-core movement. Let’s make sure they, too, see the potential for the profound impact the standards could have on their schools, their communities, even their lives. This broad-based effort to ensure the standards’ implementation is vital to the fulfillment of the new American Dream, and it requires the support of every one of us.

A version of this article appeared in the December 05, 2012 edition of Education Week as Standards Momentum Is Still in Jeopardy

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Education Dept. Sees Small Cut in Funding Package That Averted Government Shutdown
The Education Department will see a reduction even as the funding package provides for small increases to key K-12 programs.
3 min read
President Joe Biden delivers a speech about healthcare at an event in Raleigh, N.C., on March 26, 2024.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech about health care at an event in Raleigh, N.C., on March 26. Biden signed a funding package into law over the weekend that keeps the federal government open through September but includes a slight decrease in the Education Department's budget.
Matt Kelley/AP
Federal What Would Happen to K-12 in a 2nd Trump Term? A Detailed Policy Agenda Offers Clues
A conservative policy agenda could offer the clearest view yet of K-12 education in a second Trump term.
8 min read
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome, Ga. Allies of the former president have assembled a detailed policy agenda for every corner of the federal government with the idea that it would be ready for a conservative president to use at the start of a new term next year.
Mike Stewart/AP
Federal Opinion Reading Scores Have Plunged Since the Pandemic. What This Senator Wants to Do About That
How can the nation support literacy efforts? The ranking Republican on the Senate education committee wants to hear from educators.
6 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Federal Biden Calls for Teacher Pay Raises, Expanded Pre-K in State of the Union
President Joe Biden highlighted a number of his education priorities in a high-stakes speech as he seeks a second term.
5 min read
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
Shawn Thew/Pool via AP