Part of the reason behind the creation and induction of a universal set of standards for education under the name "Common Core" was to create a uniform of expectations for students across the country, despite circumstances.

Retired Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks told The Military Times he is a fan of these universal standards for military families because he says not only does he support higher standards for his children, but he also says the standards helped his daughters stay up-to-speed when having to change schools frequently.

"Each time my family moved because of my career, my wife and I wondered how our girls would compare academically with their new classmates, essentially asking if they would be ahead or behind academically because there were no common education standards from state to state. In fact, standards could vary within states, making any kind of school transfer a dicey proposition for students," he said.

But the Common Core, he said, helped to ensure that his daughters would stay on par despite changing schools, many times across states.

He also supports this past spring's new crop of assessments that he says "get away from the archaic bubble tests in which a good guess counted as much as a right answer and require that students demonstrate they understand how to apply what they have learned in the classroom to the real world."

And being able to apply classroom learning to the real world, he said, is of increasing importance right now as more and more students graduate unprepared.

"The standards and the assessments have met with strident opposition, but a noteworthy and disturbing statistic is that 30 percent of high school graduates cannot pass the basic military entrance exam," Marks continues, "The valuable feedback from assessments that measure what children have learned instead of what they don’t know gives early indicators as to where students need extra support so that teachers can intercede sooner before it’s too late."

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor