Alliance for Quality Education Reacts to Governor Cuomos Common Core Task Force

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a new Common Core Task Force to come up with ways to improve the controversial curriculum, and two Long Islanders are part of the panel. Samuelson said the task force “has the opportunity to ensure that this balance is met in New York State”. But, as is often the case when education policy is being made, students are left without a formal seat at the table.

“It is time to overhaul the Common Core Program, and also the way in which we test our students”. He said he has spoken to parents, educators, and administrators from across the state. (Only Jeb Bush and John Kasich are standing by the idea.) “It’s mystifying to me why there are individuals so entrenched in fighting this fight when you consider all the problems this country has”, says Dane Linn, vice president of the Business Roundtable, chuckling in exasperation. A Siena College poll released last week found 64 percent of New Yorkers think the implementation of the Common Core has either “worsened public education in New York” or has “had no meaningful effect”.

Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Scott Samuelson said the state “must have strong learning standards that educate all of our students and help them tap into their full potential – however, those standards must also be sensibly implemented and should not cause undue anxiety to students, parents and educators”. There is no mention of the confidence of the young people tasked with meeting the standards, whatever the adults decide they may be.

The task force, which also includes State Education Department Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, has promised to seek input from unions, teachers and parents.

But, comments from the speaker, the governor, and others indicate the common adult schema that education is something done to students, not with them.

Parent leaders of the opt-out movement have said the tests put too much pressure on students and teachers.

It is this paradigm that Zak Malamed has been working to change.

Students in grades three through eight took the tests. Malamed is from Great Neck, New York and is a senior at the University of Maryland. At first blush, the new way appears to have taken us backward. “Parents and teachers have organized quite well”. “And I’m all for that”, said Grant.

Cuomo, as he has in the past, expressed support for higher standards but blamed state education officials for mishandling Common Core’s implementation.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy determined a proposed statewide ballot question that asks voters to decide whether the state will adhere to Common Core standards is constitutional.

It’s going to be a struggle to get children to change the way they do school, but enthusiasm from home can make it feel right.