Q: What are some of the pros and cons of the Common Core Education?
—Ethyleen Tyson, Villa Rica
A: A list of pros (from parents4publicschools.org) include:
- Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will help the United States' educational system be on par, or ahead, of other countries.
- Nationally, teachers will be teaching the same information and standards.
- It will help states save money on "creating and scoring tests" because they will be shared across the country.
- Students will not be ahead or behind if their families move across state lines.
- CCSS "will increase rigor in the classroom."
Cons:
- Students and teachers could face an adjustment period in teaching and learning CCSS.
- Common Core standards are broad and must be specified.
- There could be resistance to CCSS standards at early ages, including kindergarten and pre-k.
- Schools will need to spend more on technology because of online learning capabilities and on textbooks, which will need to be in line with CCSS.
- CCSS covers only English/language arts and mathematics, so schools will still need to develop and teach social studies and science curriculum.
Common Core supporters think it will help prepare “students to succeed in the 21st century economy,” Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wrote in a letter to the Washington Post in 2014.
Erick Erickson, a Fox News contributor and editor of RedState.com, wrote Common Core “is a corporate attempt to train up good worker bees at the expense of good citizens.”
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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