What Do Teachers Really Think of the Common Core?

The Common Core State Standards have been a hot topic of debate for some time, and with the Chicago Teachers Union voting down the standards and other states jumping on the bandwagon, the controversy is not likely to die down anytime soon.

A statement on CTU's Web site said the "federally funded Common Core testing regime disrupts student learning. Preparing for the assessments and administering them also consumes 'tremendous amounts of time and resources.'"

CTU President Karen Lewis expressed her support, telling the Chicago Sun Times, "The Common Core mandate represents an overreach of federal power into personal privacy as well as into state educational autonomy. Common Core eliminates creativity in the classroom and impedes collaboration. We also know that high-stakes standardized testing is designed to rank and sort our children, and it contributes significantly to racial discrimination and the achievement gap among students in America's schools."

State Board of Education spokeswoman Mary Fergus, disagreed, however. 

"These teachers understand the vast improvement these standards are compared to our prior standards and understand the importance of these standards to the well-being of students. The State Board remains committed to the implementation of these standards in Illinois."

Other states, such as West Virginia and Louisiana, are also seeking to eliminate the standards. In Kanawha County, several school board candidates are planning to fight the state's implementation of the Common Core, according to the WV Gazette. 

Indiana is the only known state to have fully opted out of Common Core. Doing so involves a lengthy legislative process and the school's creation of its own standards. 

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has recently announced his goal to opt out of the Common Core and associated assessments, according to Education News. The governor believes the federal government is interfering too much in states' affairs. 

But What Do Teachers Think?

What do teachers think of the Common Core? Education Week looked at this question, noting that there has been a lot of talk about students' and parents' views, but not teachers'. 

The article said 75 percent of teachers support Common Core, according to a May 2013 American Federation of Teachers (AFT) poll of 800 teachers. A 2013 Education Next survey indicated that 76 percent of teachers "strongly, or somewhat" supported Common Core. In a September 2013 National Education Association (NEA) survey, more than three-fourths supported Common Core Standards "'wholeheartedly' or with some minor reservations." Likewise, a 2013 Primary Sources poll of 20,000 educators revealed that 73 percent of teachers specializing in math, science, social studies and English were "enthusiastic" about Common Core. More than 80 percent of principals said Common Core State Standards have the potential to increase students' skills. 

"I think we need to stop using teachers as a reason to abolish Common Core standards," said reporter Matthew Lynch, who was careful to note that the studies were outdated. "There are other reasons perhaps to take another look at these initiatives and modify them--but assuming that teachers are against them (and therefore everyone else should be) is a false pretense."

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor
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