1. More than one million students across the country have participated in a pilot of the math and English/language arts SBAC and PARCC Common Core standardized tests to help prepare teachers for when they really count.
2. The Next Generation Science Standards have now been developed. The next step is for states to adopt them. 45 have already adopted those in math and English/language arts.
3. Ten states and D.C. have yet to align their math course sequences and graduation requirements to the math Common Core standards, and 13 that seem aligned still have a ways to go for true alignment. Also, a majority have not adjusted their math high school graduation requirements to meet the standards.
4. The math Common Core standards require that all students take Algebra 2, but now such states as Florida and Texas are questioning the wisdom of such a mandate.
5. While the many critics of the Common Core Standards say that “they’re being crammed into classrooms by the federal government, along with hours of standardized testing,” others, such as state education officers, advocacy groups, even some in the business community, are coming to their support.
6. France’s rigorous national curriculum–on the order of the Common Core–has resulted in a high failure rate and worsening social inequality with about 20% of students struggling with basic reading, writing, and math during their school years. Plus about 1/3 of their students drop out.
7. The $100 million database that’s being funded mostly by the Gates Foundation and was established to store extensive records on millions of our public school students is losing backers as parents balk over privacy issues.
