Dr. Effrem's Prepared Remarks to Tampa Standards Hearing

 

Good evening! I am Dr. Karen Effrem, a pediatrician serving as the executive director of the Florida Stop Common Core Coalition. Thanks to the Department for your hard work in carrying out Governor DeSantis' great executive order to end Common Core, which has been shown in state and national research to be an educational disaster, chiefly harming poor and minority students.

Our strongest preference would be that the standards of high performing pre-Common Core states replace these fundamentally flawed standards. The second draft seems to be a great improvement over the minor tweaking that took place in 2014, but not yet that replacement.

Progress is however being made. Some of the developmentally inappropriate standards have been moved to their proper places in both subjects. We are delighted to see that use of the standard algorithm in math moved two years earlier compared to Common Core.

Math work still needing to be done includes:

• Making sure there is far greater emphasis on procedural fluency instead of communication, collaboration, and effortful learning
• Not overusing the variety of strategies concept
• Making sure that the lower grade level math is properly sequenced and leads to a full Algebra I course by the end of 8th grade to allow those that want to pursue STEM careers to be able to complete calculus by 12th grade.

In English, there has been great improvement in the literature list. Remaining work includes:

• Making sure phonics is appropriately intense in the early grades
• Making sure a coherent literature curriculum is linked to the ELA standards so that they do not remain content-free skills

The developmentally inappropriate standards still need more repairs in both subjects. There is still time. Please keep up the great work. Thank you!

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There are three more hearings available for the 2nd draft.
October 21, 2019, Liberty Pines Academy, 10901 Russell Sampson Road, St. Johns, Florida 32259
October 22, 2019, Hamilton County High School, 5683 US Highway 129 South, Jasper, Florida 32052
October 23, 2019, Walton High School, 449 Walton Road, DeFuniak Springs, Florida 32433

More listening tour stops will be announced for the 3rd draft in early December to include South Florida. Please attend or send comments to standardsreview@fldoe.org.

Posted in Problems of Common Core.

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