Other financially-strapped states were brought into the coalition by the promise of a waiver from the unfunded mandates of the NCLB program. And still others succumbed to pressures from their poorest school districts when it became clear that Title I monies would also be tied to Common Core. While 46 out of 50 states is an impressive number, one wonders how many states would have signed on without the enticement of federal dollars. We have some indication that the states’ endorsement of Common Core may be thin in that in nearly two dozen states some effort has been made to get out.
Why would the states seek to break a deal with the USDE after having seen and approved the Standards? That’s just it, in order to qualify for RTTT grants and NCLB waivers, the states had to sign on to Common Core fully three months (March of 2010) before the Standards were even released (June of 2010). Now that the Standards for English Language Arts and Math have been published many states are beginning to rethink their adoption. No doubt there will be those who continue to tout the Standards as a “great leap forward” in education, but the simple manner in which they were adopted by states should leave the public with a number of questions.
Kevin Ritter is a small business owner in southeast Ohio. He holds an MA in Political Science from Central Michigan University (1990) and has completed coursework, language requirements, and comprehensive exams for a PhD. in Modern European History at Western Michigan University
