Common Core has made many enemies in the education sphere since its roll-out and its supporters have come out in droves to blame difficulties in implementation for the mass revolt.

While many supporters of Common Core support the standards (and even many of its enemies, as oftentimes states that repeal Common Core change very little of the actual standards), many are also quick to acknowledge that poor and confusing implementation across states has made it difficult to support.

The Gates Foundation, not only a supporter of Common Core but a driving force behind its implementation, is the latest to admit such a thing.

In the Foundation’s annual letter, CEO Sue Desmond-Hellman acknowledged the benefits of higher standards and the potential Common Core has to lift U.S. students up, but that an underestimation of how difficult it was to implement significantly hindered their efforts.

"Unfortunately, our foundation underestimated the level of resources and support required for our public education systems to be well-equipped to implement the standards. We missed an early opportunity to sufficiently engage educators – particularly teachers – but also parents and communities so that the benefits of the standards could take flight from the beginning,” Desmond-Hellman wrote.

Besides missed opportunities to engage both parents and teachers, Desmond-Hellman says a nationwide lack of aligned resources for teachers to teach the standards is also to blame. Desmond-Hellman says the Foundation is committed moving forward to providing teachers with the resources they need through an emphasis on digital materials.

"We’re supporting a partnership with EdReports.org, the Consumer Reports of K-12 curriculum, to provide free and open-access teacher-led reviews and evidence on instructional materials. This will increase the capacity of educators across the country to seek, develop, and demand high-quality, aligned instructional materials,” she said.

"Our learning journey in U.S. education is far from over, but we are in it for the long haul. I’m optimistic that the lessons we learn from our partners – and, crucially, from educators – will help the American school system once again become the powerful engine of equity we all believe it should be.”

Read the full letter.

Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

5/24/2016

Related readings:

Hilary Clinton Supports Common Core but Calls Roll-Out ‘Disastrous’ 

Districts Say Lack of Resources Biggest Challenge of Common Core

Are Efforts to Replace Common Core Standards ‘Wasteful?’