Governor Walker Calls for Repeal of Common Core

Governor Scott Walker and the Common Core

An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday, July 17, 2014, reports that the governor is calling for legislature to repeal the Common Core standards.  Earlier attempts in the legislature even to discuss the matter apparently went nowhere, but now the governor is calling for legislators to act upon the measure immediately when the legislature convenes in January.  State Superintendent Tony Evers sees a political motivation in Walker's actions:   "It may work well for the political end of things, but it's sending messages to our kids that our system is chaotic, and it's not."  The governor's timing is particularly problematic since exams based upon the Common Core standards are due to commence in the upcoming 2014-15 academic year.

Standardized Testing Revisited

Teacher Evals and Standardized Testing

There is yet further evidence that the Obama administration is wedded to the idea that teacher quality can be based solely on the test scores of their students.  In an announcement on July 7, 2014, the federal government  is going to begin enforcing a Bush-era mandate that on its surface seems benign but has serious implications.

The policy states that poor children in poor schools will not be subject to the least experienced teachers or those teaching subjects for which they were not licensed.  Good so far.  Most people would agree that such a practice would be a very good thing.  The administration wants to ensure that all children will be taught by excellent teachers.  However, what is the measurement of such excellence?  Standardized test scores, of course.

To read more, follow see this article in the Huffington Post.