Momentum Shifts on Bill to Repeal Common Core
When it comes to student achievement in math and reading, Alabama is near the bottom of the list. If you ask state Sen. Del Marsh, he’d blame Alabama’s poor performance on standards for teaching math and language arts in public schools.
Marsh wants to repeal the nationwide academic standards known as Common Core this legislative session. But the proposal seems to have lost some momentum.
A bill to eliminate Common Core, or academic benchmarks for math and language arts, zipped through the state Senate. But it’s stalled in the House for weeks. It did not come up for a vote at the Education Policy Committee’s Wednesday meeting.
It may have hit a roadblock, but Marsh, the bill’s sponsor, says it’s temporary.
“I am optimistic that before this session is over, we will have a piece of legislation passed that will eliminate common core,” he says.
One big question some lawmakers and business leaders have is if Common Core is eliminated, what academic standards will Alabama have?
Marsh says he’ll leave that to state educators.
The Alabama State Board of Education adopted Common Core several years ago. Those standards grew out of a national effort to establish consistent education goals across the country. That means if a family in Maryland moves to Alabama, their children would cover the same subjects in school and have similar benchmarks.
But Becky Gerritson, executive director of the conservative group Eagle Forum of Alabama, says Common Core doesn’t work.
“We’ve had it long enough for all of this to be implemented and to see some changes in the positive and we haven’t, so it’s time to get out of Common Core,” she says.
Tommy Bice, former state superintendent of education, was part of the national group that developed Common Core standards in 2009.
He says state educators wrote Alabama’s standards and they are effective.
Before Common Core standards took effect in Alabama, Bice says, “Our business and industry leaders were saying that our student weren’t leaving schools ready to think critically.”
Citing a recent report from the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, he says fewer high school graduates require remediation in college. Bice also points to Alabama’s rising high school graduation rate as a sign that the standards are making a difference.
Leslie Richards, a math specialist in Jefferson County schools, says standards are often misunderstood, and that may be one of the reasons for pushback. But it’s up to educators how to apply those guidelines.
“Standards are like a rib cage or a skeleton that districts then choose to flesh out in whatever way they find most appropriate,” she says.
If the legislature repeals Common Core, Sen. Del Marsh says the state school board would have 18 months to develop new standards.
Trump will toss TikTok another lifeline, pushing back its sell-by date for a third time
Last year, Congress banned the app in the U.S., citing national security concerns and demanding it spin off from its Chinese owner, ByteDance. Trump said he'll once again pause enforcement of the ban.
‘I literally grew up in prison’: Juvenile lifers share struggles, pleasures of coming home
Accounts of reentry are notable as juvenile cases continue to undergo review. Attorneys and advocates say progress on reviews is halting in some states.
Social Security benefits face big cuts in 2033, unless Congress acts
Trustees of the Social Security trust fund predict the fund will be exhausted in eight years. Unless Congress acts, Social Security payments will automatically drop by 23% at that time.
Democratic lawmakers press USDA for answers on sensitive data collection
35 House members said they are troubled by the Agriculture Department's plans to collect personal data from people who applied for federal food assistance, and urged the effort to "immediately cease."
Greetings from Shenyang, China, where workers sort AI data in ‘Severance’-like ways
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world.
Looking for summertime suspense? Turn up the heat with these 4 mystery novels
Maureen Corrigan recommends four great reads: El Dorado Drive, by Megan Abbott; The House on Buzzards Bay, by Dwyer Murphy; King of Ashes, by S.A. Cosby; and Murder Takes a Vacation, by Laura Lippman.
