Lack of Rigor in Common Core

The Common Core standards are portrayed as "rigorous" and "internationally benchmarked," yet the evidence and expert review show that they are neither.  Even the Common Core website admits that the standards are internationally "aligned,"  not benchmarked. The developers of Common Core admit that they were "unqualified."David Coleman, the chief architect of the standards, now president of the College Board, which is responsible for the SAT, the GED, and the AP tests stated in a 2009 speech:
"One is we're composed of that collection of unqualified people who were involved in developing the common standards...I probably spend a little more time on literacy because as weak as my qualifications are there, in math they're even more desperate in their lacking." 

These Common Core architects also admit that their definition of college readiness is for a non-selective two-year community college. In fact, Jason Zimba, one of the major architects of the math standards admitted publicly, "[Common Core is] not only not for STEM, it's also not for selective colleges."

These standards have never been tested or used anywhere.  There is no evidence that Common Core Standards measure up to those of our international competitors.  The US does both better and worse than countries with national standards.

The standards reduce literary study to only 30% in high school, increasing the percentage of informational texts like EPA manuals and Federal Reserve reports, and teaching both kinds of texts without cultural or historical context, resulting in decreased vocabulary acquisition, critical thinking skills, and according to an expert on the validation committee that refused to sign off on the final version, our children graduating from high school will be reading at only a 7th grade level.

Common Core eliminates or delays key concepts in mathematics and uses untested or failed teaching methods that will result in our eighth grade students being two years behind in math compared to other countries and farther behind by the end of high school.  According to experts, Common Core removes the mathematical concepts that are critical for four year college readiness, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)  careers, international competitiveness, and are major delays and steps backwards from the most highly rated state standards and those of other countries.

Ironically, both Bill Gates and Chester Finn of the Fordham Institute, two of the leading Common Core proponents in the nation admit that Common Core is a giant experiment.  Gates, who is not accontable to any voters and has spent $170 million or more of corporate and foundation funds to impose his view of education reform on the entire country, said, "It would be great if our education stuff worked, but that we probably won't know for a decade."

Additional Resources PDF
 
Professor Sandra Stotsky - Written Testimony on Common Core in Florida and VIDEO from 10/15/13 Tampa, Florida public hearing starting at 8:20  
Math Expert Ze'Ev Wurman - Written Testimony on Common Core in Florida and VIDEO from 10/15/13 Tampa, Florida public hearing starting at 17:30  
Professor James Milgram Testimony on Math Standards   
Professor Christopher Tienken - "Common Core Standards - An Example of Data-less Decision Making"  
Professor Jay Greene: Common Core Debate: 3 on 3  - Fordham standards ratings do not correlate with student achievement (11:46)  
Indiana Chamber of Commerce's History of Backing Poor Education Policy - Truth in American Education  

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