Rebuttal to Jeb Bush's Remarks on Common Core in Education Next

Karen R. Effrem, MD - Executive Director

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush discussed Common Core during an interview with Education Next. Below is my response to his statements:EN: You have been a steadfast supporter of the common core, even when others have become increasingly critical. Why? What do you say to critics?JB: I support high academic standards. Period.

KRE: If you support high academic standards, then why do you support Common Core? They are untested; not rigorous; not internationally benchmarked; developed by one key architect who admitted the major authors were "unqualified;" admitted by another key architect to be inadequate for STEM majors in four year universities; admitted by the US DOE, the National Association of State Boards of Education, and other major groups to teach "social emotional learning," "mindsets,"" behaviors;" and are declared by 500 early childhood experts, as well as many content experts and psychologists to be developmentally inappropriate.

JB: High academic standards are a basic element of reform. Yet, across the country, state standards have been abysmally low for too long, evidenced by the fact that 75 percent of high school graduates are not fully prepared for college or a good paying job. A recent study by the American Institutes for Research compared state standards with international assessments and found the difference between states with the highest and lowest standards was the equivalent of three to four grade levels.

KRE: There is no evidence that statewide or national standards improve academic performance. Since the passage of the Improving America's Schools Act and Goals 2000, started by your father and completed by President Clinton in 1994, NAEP scores have either been stagnant or fallen.
According to research by the Cato Institute, the U.S. does both better and worse on international achievement comparisons than nations that have national standards Read more

Posted in Standards. Tagged as Common Core Standards, Education Next, Jeb Bush, Karen Effrem.

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