State Superintendent Says Alabama’s Education Standards Shouldn’t Be Political
The Common Core State Standards have become a target around the country for some politicians and advocacy groups. Released in 2010, they’re math and language arts standards intended to raise rigor and establish consistency across the nation. Alabama’s version, the College and Career Ready Standards, survived an attempt at repeal by state lawmakers this spring. State superintendent Tommy Bice tells WBHM’s Sherrel Wheeler Stewart about these standards and the controversy surrounding them.
From Defining Things to Understanding Them
After state officials polled numerous universities and jobs of recent high school graduates, they found that most said students had an inability to apply their knowledge to the real world.
Bice says the College and Career Ready Standards help students achieve a better grasp on the subjects they’re taught in school, which then allows them to better apply this knowledge post-graduation.
“We still teach the basics of mathematics, of phonics, of all those things we’ve always taught that are foundational to children being able to understand,” Bice says, “But then we asked them to show that they understand it in a variety of ways.”
Who Sets the Standards?
Alabama is not the only state attempting to streamline the public education process.
Bice recall the first Common Core meeting, and says it’s a group effort.
“I’m the only living human being in the state of Alabama that was at the first meeting however many years ago when we decided there would be collective value if the 50 states came together and talked about what works best for you or us or them in mathematics or English language arts,” Bice says.
State officials then brought this process to Alabama to develop state standards.
“We brought in teachers, principals, professors to review those standards, determine if they thought those would be best for Alabama students,” Bice says. “In the state of Alabama those groups thought we needed more, so they added standards to them.”
This led to the creation of the College and Career Ready Standards, earning its name because of its own Alabama-specific guidelines. Even though it was included in some federal grants, Bice says he has never answered to anyone outside of Alabama about the state’s standards.
“They really do belong to us,” he says, “But there are commonalities between ours and many other states across the nation.”
Why is there Still Resistance?
Although there has not been legislative movement in Alabama to repeal the standards, some are still angry about them, and say Common Core’s creation is purely a federal scheme to gain control of education.
Bice explains that state officials have been aware of this, and are maintaining control of Alabama’s own educational guidelines.
“In Alabama we’ve been very careful to maintain our sovereignty,” he says, “and not give away any of our rights to do this.”
Bice also says keeping the standards focused on education rather than politics is what will keep them alive.
Alexis Herman, the first Black secretary of labor in U.S. history, dies at age 77
Civil rights groups, labor organizations and politicians praised Alexis Herman as a "trailblazer" who fought for the rights of women, Black people and American workers over the course of decades.
Finally! Shedeur Sanders gets picked by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL draft 5th round
He had to wait until the fifth round, but Shedeur Sanders, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — his coach at the University of Colorado — has finally been drafted by the NFL.
U.S. judge says 2-year-old apparently deported to Honduras ‘with no meaningful process’
The toddler, a U.S. citizen, was apparently sent to Honduras with her mother and 11-year-old sister, even as a federal judge tried to contact an attorney representing the government.
Iran says 4 people are dead and hundreds injured in a massive port explosion
A massive explosion and fire at a port in southern Iran has killed four people, authorities said Saturday. More than 500 others have been injured in the blast at the Shahid Rajaei port.
Built on a rich coffee history, Yemeni cafes find U.S. success and new challenges, too
Yemen is an ancient birthplace of the coffee trade, and immigrants fleeing its civil war have brought their culture here in the form of cafes. Hundreds of Yemeni coffee shops have opened in the U.S.
Trump meets Zelenskyy during visit to Pope Francis’ funeral
The White House says it will release more details of the meeting, which it described as "a very productive discussion."
