A state House Committee has voted to dump the Common Core educational standards and any tests associated with them. Under the legislation approved in the Education Committee, it would be illegal to adopt any other standards that are being used by 20 or more states, and the Legislature would have to approve any new standards adopted by the Arizona Board of Education. Representative Mark Finchem said it’s all about local control.
“State control has been usurped by the federal government through non-governmental organizations," Finchem said. "There is no collaborative amendment process. It is copyrighted material that must be taught a certain way with certain information.”
Representative Jay Lawrence said it’s about parents who don’t understand Common Core math, leaving them unable to help their kids with their homework.
“The parents have been left out of the Common Core math equation," Lawrence said. "Parents do not understand Common Core math. And therefore they've been left out."
But, Representative Reginald Bolding said opponents of Common Core are confusing what their kids should know with their objections to the curriculum and materials used. The same panel also voted to allow parents to opt out of having their kids take any standardized assessment, whether it’s Common Core or something else.
Amanda McAdams, the 2011 Arizona Teacher of the Year said while the work is more difficult, it’s not a bad thing,
“If we're going to raise standards and raise the bar, we're going to see children struggle a bit until they can meet the rigor of the standards. My children are bringing home assignments that challenge them to think critically, formulate ideas and support those ideas with evidence,” McAdams said.