As some states adopt task forces and work to replace or dismantle Common Core Standards, Katie Moylan of the New York Daily News argues these efforts are nothing more than time and money consuming. She describes the efforts as ‘wasteful.’

"For all of the political bluster and heated rhetoric surrounding the Common Core, a new report from High Achievement New York shows only two states — Indiana and Oklahoma — have actually repealed the standards and tried to replace them with something new and different,” Moylan says.

And for the two states that have tried to come up with new and different standards, they have thus far experienced little success despite spending a whole lot of money.

Other states like New Jersey have claimed they intended to dismantle the standards- only to establish task forces that voted to keep a majority of them.

In New Jersey, the appointed task force voted to keep 85 percent of the Common Core despite Republican Gov. Chris Christie announcing his intention to scrap them completely.

As opposed to spending money and time trying to get rid of the standards, Moylan argues that states should instead work to improve them.

“...all of us should be open to common-sense improvements to the standards and assessments. Steps such as ensuring the standards are age- and grade-appropriate, shortening the tests and providing more timely feedback to educators and parents can help communities see and appreciate the strengths of a unified set of learning standards,” she says.

And " teachers, not politicians or bureaucrats, should drive the process of reviewing the standards. Modifying standards and improving assessments must build on the hard work and experience of educators so that we can create success in the classroom, not confusion.”

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

2/1/2016