Aiden Kjeldsen

Mrs. Gardner

Hon. English 10, 6

3 May 2017

Effects of Common Core

The most intelligent and genus computers, our brains, all develop and learn at different

paces and times. For some it is early on and school is easy, for others it is later on and school is

a struggle. With the new Common Core initiative, the United States is attempting to educate

every student at the same pace and time. All students K through 12 (at public schools) must

participate in these new testing standards across the country. The Common Core initiative has

been a very controversial move in schools around the United States, with a substantial amount of

pushback (Farmer, Brain). Teachers, parents, and students are concerned and fearful of the

future for the school systems. Even though Common Core appears to be a beneficial

curriculum, the process by which it is being implemented results in severe money loss, a

decrease in student individuality and creativity, and also the greatest loss: a loss of love for

learning in students.

No one can deny that the United States was in need of a re-work in their public school

education system. Initially, many would consider Common Core to be the needed savior of

education. With its elegant computerized text books and modernized approach, Common Core

appears as its all chalked up to be. Another big draw is, it gives students real world problems,

that will give the students the necessary tools to excel in future professions (Nancy Gardner).

Why write-off a system that claims to do this? To summarize, supporters of Common Core
believe it is a staple for student's learning experience. Many believe Common core to be helpful;

however, it is not helpful for students, it is expensive, does not give students the ability to shine,

and it is a mundane style of learning.

Admittedly, Common Core may be useful for some students learning. Nevertheless,

when considering the cost of this change, it does not justify the minimal difference it makes in

the students learning. For example, according to Joy Pullman, a former school teacher, in Trust

in America, the cost to switch California's to Common Core standards alone is going to cost 1.6

Billion dollars. Also, according to Diane Ravitch of The New York Times, that those billions

were going to be spent to reduce class sizes, especially in struggling schools, to restore arts and

physical education classes, to rebuild physically crumbling schools, and to provide universal

early childhood education. However, the United States disregarded these needs, and moved to

an electronic based system, when students perform better in a paper based system (Michael

Rothfeld). Based on this research, the overwhelming expense and lack of research for school

needs is an inefficient solution for education. In summation, if Common Core costs this much

money for a marginal change in education, why should the country allow this initiative to

continue.

Furthermore, research shows that Common Core decreases student creativity and

individuality. In studies around the country, Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. in educational policy

states, bright students are too advanced for the rigid common core structure, therefor they fail

tests. Obviously, this structure of learning does not allow students to learn to their fullest

potential, thus leading to inferior grades and a melancholic feeling that they are unintelligent,

when in reality they are very smart. This feeling of being unsuccessful could be detrimental to a
students confidence resulting in an inability to make risks in careers, further in life. As a result,

Common Core has put every student on the same level (an almost communist idealism), so the

advanced will not get smarter; and the less advanced will fall behind. This strategy of meeting in

the middle is a indolent solution to the issue of student success and welfare.

Ultimately, Common Core should not continue because it takes a love of learning out of

students. In recent studies, struggling learners who can not adjust to the firm standards, give up

on reading, writing, and arithmetic, because they hear the word fail too often, decreasing their

humanistic desire to learn and assimilate knowledge (Benjamin Harold). My younger sibling,

who had trouble learning when he was younger, had no desire to continue reading or writing

because he could not reach the impossible expectations. His lack of desire and confidence led to

a point, where my mother had to remove him from school and teach him, trying to reinstill

confidence and a love for learning in him, for he was an intelligent boy. After a few years of

learning from home, he came back to school able to learn with confidence and a wish to learn. A

few weeks of damage to confidence or a desire to learn, can take years to repair. With this,

challenge, students will not have the same opportunity to be successful, therefore creating a large

amount of people afraid to fail and avoid taking risks, resulting in an uneducated and

unambitious generation.

In conclusion, Common Core appears as a beneficial curriculum, but the process by which it is

implemented results in money loss, a decrease in student individuality and creativity, and also

the greatest loss: a lack of love for learning from students. This initiative must be stopped if the

United States wants to remain with smart capable citizens. This impractical solution for a rework
in the public school system has too many consequences to outweigh the good. Common Core

standards remove student individually and simultaneously increase the United States massive

debt.
 Work Cited

Farmer, Brian. "Common Core is Rotten to the Core." New American, Jun, 2014, pp. 17-21,

SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com. Accessed 8 May 2017.

Gardner, Nancy S., and Rod Powell. "The Common Core is a Change for the Better."

Phi Delta Kappan, 2013, pp. 49-53, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Accessed 8 May 2017.

Herold, Benjamin. "Comparing Paper and Computer Testing: 7 Key Research Studies."

Education Week. N.p., 10 May 2016.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/02/23/comparing-paper-and-computer-testing-7

-key.html Acessed 8 may 2017.

Pullman, Joy . Common Core Costs CA Nearly $10 Billion; Nation $80 Billion.

The Federalist, 27 Jan. 2016,

thefederalist.com/2016/01/27/estimate-common-core-to-cost-california-nearly-10-billion-

nation-80-billion . Accessed 8 May 2017.

Ravitch, Diane. Opinion | The Common Core Costs Billions and Hurts Students.

The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 July 2016,

www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/opinion/sunday/the-common-core-costs-billions-and-hurts

-students.html?_r=0. Accessed 8 May 2017.

Rothfeld, Michael. "Cost Woes Plague Common-Core Rollout." Wall Street Journal, 03 Nov,

2015, pp. A.1, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com. Accessed 8 May 2017.