Leadership Matters - October 2013

Legend Green - Have adopted Common Core State Standards Gray – Have NOT adopted Common Core State Standards Blue – Has adopted English Language Arts Standards only

Common Core – Only time will tell ___________________________

“The Common Core State Standards are a fact of life in Illinois and in all but five other states. It’s hard to argue with the goals, but only time will tell if it will result in progress or whether it is just another in a long line of flawed national efforts to standardize public education.”

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shows that the mobility rate for Illinois students has been between 13 and 16 percent. It stands to reason that as a parent you have the right to expect that your child will be taught the same basic skills and knowledge regardless of the school they attend. Also, those state-to-state comparisons the media loves to report should theoretically be fairer now that the participating states are supposed to be using the same standards. Gone should be the days of states with very low standards looking like national models of success. Common Core also offers the possibility of collaboration on things like the development of textbooks and teaching materials aligned to the CCSS, and perhaps even a common assessment though at least a half dozen states have decided to opt out of the PARCC. It would seem to make sense that states wishing to partner on a common assessment even could save money as opposed to each state paying a company to design an assessment. The Common Core State Standards are a fact of life in Illinois and in all but five other states. It’s hard to argue with the goals, but only time will tell if it will result in progress or whether it is just another in a long line of flawed national efforts to standardize public education.

- Dr. Brent Clark, IASA Executive Director

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