North Carolina may join several other states in challenging the implementation of the Common Core standards.
The Common Core is a set of national standards for student learning. Forty-five states have adopted the Common Core standards for math and language arts; North Carolina did so two years ago. They were implemented this past year.
In recent months, many conservative and tea party groups have voiced a concern that the standards will nationalize public education. Yesterday, in a video posted on youtube, North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest expressed the same concern.
“As a believer in local and parental control of education, I am unclear how education with a national one-size-fits-all standard will serve our students well and allow our parents to be engaged in educational decisions,” Forest said.
The Common Core is, in fact, not a federal initiative. It was proposed by the National Governors’ Association.
Forest also expressed concerns that the Common Core was implemented without first being tested in a single district and with issues over data collection.
“It is my understanding that a significant amount of student data will be collected by the participating school systems and has the potential of being shared with other, outside entities,” Forest said in the video. “What data will be collected? By whom? Shared with whom? The answer to these questions should have been answered prior to North Carolina agreeing to the implementation of Common Core.”
Forest serves on the State Board of Education. He has vowed to raise the issue at Board meetings over the next several months.
