My stance on the Common Core State Standards

By Jeff Tilton

From my nearly 30 years as an educator, I know that it is hard to find a common ground on education reform initiatives like the No Child Left Behind Act and The Common Core State Standards. My response on the Common Core has always been the same.

By way of history, here is a brief factual background on The Common Core State Standards Initiative:

In 2009, The Common Core State Standards was launched by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) from 48 states and Washington, D.C. to "provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them." The Common Core State Standards are not a Federal program, but 44 states and Washington, D.C. have voluntarily adopted The Common Core Standards (English and Mathematics, only). It should be noted that The Common Core State Standards are also not curriculum. They were developed with the intention to set milestones and standards for educational achievement, while at the same time providing local teachers and administrators with the flexibility they need to best achieve those results.

The Common Core State Standards are currently being measured by one of two assessments. The final decision of which assessment to use is determined by individual state education agencies. California has joined Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which is focused on creating "adaptive online exams." The idea behind The Common Core State Standards is to measure how effective we are with our delivery of education based on consistent assessments across the country.

One of my experiences as an educator was with the Northwest Evaluation Association (2004-2011), where I traveled all over the nation and worked with a variety of schools and districts on how to use data to inform instruction. The NWEA research team, after collecting millions of tests, produced several studies exposing that states were not equal with respect to standards, the measures used, and the bar of proficiency. A student who is proficient in one state and crosses the border by moving to a neighboring state may not be proficient, after all, based on that state's different standards, assessment, and proficiency bar. Things were not working for our families, educators or students.

While I applaud the efforts of educators working toward a way to measure the success of our students, I know that Common Core will not be the final answer. I do believe in parental choice and that there is not a one-size fits all approach to education. I support providing broad education choices to parents and children at the State and Local level. In fact, while my children were in the public school system, one thrived in the traditional setting, while one only made it through the public school system thanks to a local charter high school. Parents need to have a choice. I support options. I support choice. As such, it is my hope that someday in the near future that there is a transparent conversation with all the key stakeholders (consultants, parents, educators and corporate America) to develop an educational reform initiative that truly benefits our students.

My career as an educator has spanned over three decades, during which I have been a classroom teacher, coach, principal, and senior administrator at school districts as well as two county offices of education. During my entire career I have always been dedicated to education reform. Like you, I believe it is incumbent upon our schools to provide the best education to our children to give them a brighter future. Our education system is broken and needs to be fixed. As such, I am open to any initiative that will provide our students the best possible education.