Fact-checking

Amy Kronenberger from The Daily Standard on Common Core

http://dailystandard.com/archive/2013-09-24/stories/22096/speaker-says-common-core-unconstitutional Article Statements Common Core standards being implemented across the nation take educational control out of the hands of the state and local districts and places it solely with the federal government. Fact The Common Core State Standards Initiative was and will remain a state-led effort. In addition to supporting effective implementation of the Common Core State Standards, NGA and CCSSO are committed to developing a long-term sustainability structure with leadership from governors, chief state school officers, and other state policymakers. There will be an ongoing state-led development process that can support continuous improvement of the standards Measuring student performance against standards is the cornerstone of accountability and the higher standards will yield a higher quality of education that better prepares students for college and the workforce. States make the decision whether or not they require an exit exam to earn a high school diploma. Many states have had exit exam requirements in place for decades. The SAT and the ACT are the universally-accepted college admissions tests. Scores on college entrance exams are set by the institution or the state. Common Core State Standards are standards, not curriculum. The curriculum is, and always will be developed by the states themselves. From the Ohio Department of Education: These mathematics Model Curricula were written by Ohio educators to support the implementation of the Ohio's New Learning Standards (also referred to as Common Core) standards for mathematics. The State Board of Education adopted the Model Curricula on March 15, 2011. In Ohio, the General Assembly voted in 2009 to require the state Board of Education to update the states existing academic standards. The state Board of Education held a month-long public comment period before adopting the new standards. And there were hearings in the House and Senate education committees on the Common Core before the state Board vote. Common Core is voluntary and has been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Common Core was not initiated by the Department of Education. The nations governors and education commissioners, through their representative organizations the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) led the development of the Common Core State Standards and continue to lead the initiative. Teachers, parents, school administrators and experts from across the country together with state leaders provided input into the development of the standards. In fact the U.S. constitution says nothing about public education.

Schools are results-based and students' success depends on the outcome of national assessment testing, the curriculum will follow the testing.

The curriculum is politically driven and diminishes the importance of the family structure. They also said many of the approved reading texts were graphic in nature and not age-appropriate.

Heidi Huber of Cincinnatinoted the standards were implemented without a vote from state legislators, local school boards, teachers or residents. She called Common Core unconstitutional.