Two big names in American Education, Diane Ravitch and Marc Tucker, have recently written several articles outlining their opinions on the imminent implementation of the Common Core standards. Ravitch, known as more of an advocate of local educational agency and as an opponent of standardization, kicked things off with a blog post in which she described, after considering the issue for some time, how she “cannot support the Common Core State Standards.”
Read her initial blog post here: http://dianeravitch.net/2013/02/26/why-i-cannot-support-the-common-core-standards/
Ravitch’s main issue with the Common Core, with its emphases on nationwide curriculum and standardized testing, is that it promises to bring changes that it has no way of knowing it can bring. In her words, “We are a nation of guinea pigs, almost all trying an unknown new program at the same time.”
Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, regular blogger at Education Week, and long-time advocate of rigorous curriculum backed up by standardized testing, fired back.
Here is the link to his first response: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2013/03/diane_ravitch_wrong_on_the_common_core.html
He concludes the response as follows: “The United States has been far behind the other industrialized countries in developing serious standards for student achievement. The attempt to develop state-by-state standards failed ignominiously. What we most need now is not cold feet, but high quality examinations, first-rate curriculum and instructional resources and high quality training for our teachers in the use of those standards, instructional resources and assessment systems. It will take years of determined effort to develop all that infrastructure and years more to implement it effectively. And there is no time to waste.”
Tucker followed his initial post with two more, which can be found here: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2013/03/further_response_to_diane_ravitch_on_common_core.html
Ravitch’s final response can be found here: http://dianeravitch.net/2013/03/29/my-non-debate-with-marc-tucker-my-response/
In short, Ravitch’s main complaint with Common Core and those of Marc Tucker’s persuasion is that they put the cart before the horse when they insist that standards will provide the impetus for changes that will help students from lower income backgrounds. Tucker’s main complaint with Ravitch and those opposed to national standards is that they are obstructionist and not actually taking steps, such as the Common Core, to attempt to educate American children more towards international standards. Regardless of the debate, Common Core will be implemented in the 2014-2015 school year in 46 states and the District of Columbia.
