To the editor:
It’s time for parents, grandparents and taxpayers to do their homework and discover the truth about the so-called new Common Core State Standards, or CCSS.
First, states were coerced into signing on to Common Core for a chance to compete in the “Race to the Top” competition to win grants made available from federal stimulus funds and to obtain a waiver from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Most of the 46 states that agreed to implement CCSS did so sight unseen, as the standards were not issued until after the states signed on.
In the April 11 issue of the Call, Nancy Rathjen, Lindbergh Schools assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, was quoted as saying the new standards “are benchmarked or compared to the top-performing nations around the world.”
According to Sandra Stotsky, who served on Common Core’s Validation Committee and testified before the Missouri Legislature, evidence of international benchmarking was not made available and asserted that “Common Core is not about ‘rigor for all’ … In grades six to 12, it is about ‘rigor for none.’”
According to the statement of support for the new standards approved by the Lindbergh Board of Education, an advantage of CCSS is their focus on the “knowledge and skills students will need to succeed in life after high school, in both postsecondary education and a globally competitive workforce.”
However, Jason Zimba, the mathematics standards writer, stated, “College-readiness for Common Core means readiness for admission to a nonselective community college.”
In supporting CCSS for Missouri, the Lindbergh Board of Education is lowering the standards of the school district and taking a huge step backward.
In addition, under CCSS, tracking of up to 400 points of data on all students from preschool to age 20 will occur and be sent to federal agencies and third parties. Lastly, CCSS is a huge unfunded mandate. After September 2014, schools and/or states will end up paying 100 percent of the cost.
I strongly urge everyone to become educated about CCSS and contact their state legislators with any concerns.
