Common Core = FedEdLed. "O" States Ohio and Oklahoma Battle SAME Issues!

I received this information today from my friend and counterpart Heidi Huber in Ohio.  It's a piece entitled, "What You Can Do Today To Stop Common Core".  In her post, Heidi tells parents to opt out of Fall Assessments and take control back for their child's education.

This is so true! Schools are mandated to test a certain percentage of students (I believe Oklahoma's percentage is 98). Think about it. If parents kept their children from taking state mandated tests, what would that do to the system? Well, because the test scores are used to calculate the school grade, the school would most probably fail. In that case, the state Department of Education is to become involved with the running of that school in one of several ways. Do you think the state has enough employees or a far enough reach to do that for every school in Oklahoma (or Ohio as it were)? I'll tell you the answer in case you don't know...NO.

Just like in Oklahoma, Ohio is fighting nearly ALL the same education 'reforms' as Oklahoma - school grade cards, 3rd grade reading retention, Common Core, the State Longitudinal Database...

For all those who like to believe education 'reform' is about kids - or that it is has arisen locally, state by state - I say, "Look at the evidence." If nearly every state in the union is fighting the same issues, this has to be about FEDERAL control.

Please wake up parents! You are in charge of your child's education! Opt out of state testing. Request the teacher provide different assignments for math, if your kids aren't catching on, or the problems are too long and unwieldy for them to manage! Taxpayer/parents pay to have their children educated in public schools. Public schools must be responsive to YOUR needs, not a conduit for federal government control of your child.

In closing, check out the photos I Tweeted out today. See anything funny here? I do...Same Stuff - Different "O" State!

Sign on Ohio car along one of Kasich's re-election campaign routes.

Protestors at Mary Fallin's re-election announcement.
The sign at top middle states, "Republicans Against Mary"

Ohio Stop Common Core group in front of Kasich sign

Board Member Joy Collins with Governor Fallin at her Tulsa
headquarters during her re-election announcement tour.

A meme we put together before Governor Fallin
signed HB3399 and repealed Common Core in Oklahoma dealing
with the same issues as Ohio.

Testimony For Ohio's House Rules and Reference Committee - HB597 Repealing Common Core

I thought I would publish the remarks I made to the House Rules and Reference Committee this week in the event it might help someone in another state.  Please feel free to use/modify anything you see here if it will help.

COMMON CORE TESTIMONY: Ohio State Legislature 8/20/14

Jenni White, President: Restore Oklahoma Public Education

As Oklahoma began the effort to repeal Common Core in our state, we were confronted with numerous reasons (created mostly by think tanks and dues-paid organizations – some outside our state borders) why we should not repeal Common Core and develop our own standards.  I’m sure you’ve heard numerous of these yourselves.  I’m going to attempt to discuss a few this morning.

1.    Our state Chamber of Commerce pushed numerous false claims indicating that Common Core was better than Oklahoma’s previous standards (PASS) and that Common Core were ‘proven’ standards.

a.    They put together several mailers pointing to the ‘fact’ that Kentucky had seen higher results from using Common Core

b.    Dick Innes from the Bluegrass Policy Institute in Kentucky, was able to provide all the information I needed to show that the Chamber was, according to Innes, making “outrageously wrong” claims about Common Core.  (http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-oklahoma-chamber-of-commerce-makes.html)

c.    False information will be used to attempt to sway public opinion; it can and should be debunked.

d.    It’s also important to remember that the US Chamber of Commerce was given a tidy sum by the Bill Gates Foundation to push/message the Common Core.

2.    The Fordham Institute frequently attempted to provide our legislature with ‘proof’ that Common Core were better than Oklahoma’s standards, though Fordham actually graded Oklahoma’s PASS as an A- in Math and a B+ in English in comparison to Common Core.

a.    When we addressed this issue, we were told Fordham had graded an earlier version of PASS, not the current version.

                                          i.    Consequently, we had Dr. Stotsky and Dr. Wurman both review the latest PASS in comparison to Common Core and both were in agreement that even the most recent PASS were at least equal to Common Core.  (http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2014/05/this-week-is-important-in-life-of.html)

3.    Oklahoma was constantly assailed by allegations that Oklahoma would lose our NCLB waiver should we repeal Common Core.  We were able to make several cogent arguments against this prevailing theory.

a.    First of all – if any state is in danger of losing their NCLB waiver for repealing Common Core, how can Common Core be a ‘state-led’ issue?  In fact, that one query invalidates this often used claim and should, therefore, be a major talking point for repeal.

b.    If the waiver is the issue, the ‘assurance’ made to the federal government in the waiver is that the state’s standards be “college and career-ready”.  There is a provision for states not signing on to Common Core, to use their higher ed/career tech system to validate the state’s current standards – certifying them as “college and career-ready”.  Oklahoma is undergoing this process currently.

c.    The state of Washington lost their waiver due to an inability to come together over their teacher grading system.  After speaking with Liv Finne with the Washington Policy Institute, parents are finding they have more flexibility to get those students who need it, help in reading, as the state must give the money to the parents to find appropriate programs to help their children. (http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2014/05/does-our-state-want-museum-or-education.html)

d.    No state will LOSE MONEY with a loss of their waiver. They only lose the ability to direct 20% of their Title 1 funding.  In Oklahoma, we found this amounts to only 0.50% of total education spending.  A percent of a percent would be the loss – not of money, but of DIRECTION of money.

e.    NCLB waivers are crumbling as states discover they are losing more and more of their autonomy in state education to the federal government in exchange for flexibility from a law that demanded 100% proficiency of American children in math and reading – a pie-in-the-sky ideal if ever there was one.  Many states other than WA have had to abandon ‘vital’ parts of their NCLB waiver for one reason or another, and several didn’t even take a waiver.  It is nearly impossible for the US Department of Education to seek reckoning from all the states which have desired to, or had to, buck their waiver.

                                          i.    CA did not get a waiver – though several districts have – but they say they’re happy to having to satisfy federal regulations for school turnarounds, teacher evaluations and standards.  In addition, Vermont and North Dakota didn’t take a waiver because they said they wanted more flexibility over their spending and policy.

                                        ii.    In fact, Margaret Spellings, an architect of the original NCLB law under George W. Bush, has said, “The Waivers were a mistake.  It’s a crazy quilt of a system which I think will die [on its] own.” (http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2014/05/hb3399-why-are-we-arguing-over-percent.html)

4.    In a last ditch effort to stop Oklahoma from repealing Common Core, the Fordham Institute sent a letter to Governor Fallin and the members of our legislators addressing a wide range of topics – all of which we refuted for legislators, but I’d like to address two quickly (http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2014/06/response-to-brickman-fordham-and.html)

a.    The Fiscal and Educational Costs of Repeal:  Common Core costs have largely been left unmentioned.  In fact, I was not able to find record of associated costs in any state prior to the fact.  I just performed a recent search on the topic and found that the  National Conference of State Legislators doesn’t know.  Governing magazine doesn’t know.  In fact, Oklahoma’s own legislators couldn’t have known what it would cost to implement the CCSS because they were passed into state law before they were even fully written and prepared for public view. You can’t estimate cots of an initiative for which you’re not fully familiar, yet now cost has become an issue to prevent repeal?  A number of organizations  provided reasonable estimates early on in the process – one researcher even adapted these for each state - but they got very little discussion time – as though it seemed easier to just ignore the thought and see if it would go away.  In Oklahoma, Representative Gus Blackwell attempted to bring a Task Force to bear for study of the costs of Common Core in Oklahoma during the 2013 legislative session, but that bill was blocked from a hearing on the floor after passing the rules committee resoundingly, seeming to indicate that the answer to the question wasn’t really an issue.

b.    A Political Advantage with Most Voters:  A new poll has apparently shown four star Republican voters are for CCSS, but the questions in the poll don’t ask, “How do you feel about the Common Core State Standards?” they ask, “How do you feel about higher standards?”   Only the most out of touch policy wonks could spin that inquiry to mean Common Core specifically.  The candidates for 2014 office who have commissioned polls on Common Core in Oklahoma have reported to me results showing nearly nil public support for CC.   Though our Secretary of Education may be out explaining to the public that white suburban moms are mad because we’ve found our kids aren’t as brilliant as we think they are, most parents WANT higher standards for their children.  Moms all over Oklahoma – and the nation –are prepared to vote like they may never have voted before simply because they’ve watched their children cry over homework and become more and more frustrated with the whole notion of school.  Polls don’t catch these voters – these are wildcard votes spurred by emotional voters that only want to see the best for their children.

                                          i.    A new Gallup/Phi Delta Kappa poll has been released that indicates much more opposition for Common Core than previously.  In fact, 60% of respondents oppose CC because they think it will limit the way teachers teach.  Partisan opposition breakdown: R=76%, I=60% and D = 38%

5.    We’ve often been told that we can only compare students if states have the same educational standards, but doesn’t it seem at least plausible that people in their own states would best know that definition of a ‘right’ education for their own state? If not, then why have states at all? Why don’t we just open up all borders and allow every state to be ruled by one central government that knows the best definition of ‘right’ for the entire country?

6.    The argument has also been made that Common Core repeal is political – that policymakers are trying to stop Common Core because of pressure from opponents.  This one notion should probably be most offensive to everyone involved because I think it points to a certain amount of derision for the regular citizen.  Somehow, parents have become ‘opponents’ – saboteurs – reactionaries.  In fact, this argument seems to undercut the notion of personal liberty by indicating parents/citizens are not smart enough to understand that the state knows what’s best for us.

7.    Accountability has been another issue used to denounce state standards in favor of Common Core, but the truth is that the only ones to whom ANY school needs to prove educational relevance and accountability are those parents and students actually served by that school in that community. That was the greatest notion in all the ideals during the creation of America – the fact that no one was going to have the definition of ‘right’ for any state or individual. That the individual first, and then the state, had the best idea of ‘right’. (http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2014/05/whats-fight-against-common-core-really.html)

In closing, no matter what argument we faced for keeping Common Core in Oklahoma, we were able to debunk every single concrete, factual argument (as in the Kentucky issue with the Chamber) and provide sufficient ideological argument to refute any political or philosophical complaint.  If that can happen in Oklahoma, it can certainly happen in Ohio.  There is no magic “Common Core bullet”.  Ohio – like Oklahoma - has your own unique arsenal for educational excellence; you just need to arm yourself with what works for you, aim and fire.

Response To Brickman (Fordham) and Hudeyki's Six Reasons for Gov. Fallin NOT To Sign HB3399

Monday I was ecstatic to find that, while I was leaving for Ohio to participate in an anti-Common Core rally, Michael Brickman from Fordham Foundation (located in Ohio) was coming to Oklahoma to give Governor Fallin 6 reasons why she should not sign HB3399 - the repeal and replacement of the Common Core State Standards in Oklahoma.

I feel it important to address each one of their points:

1.    The Fiscal and Educational Costs of Repeal

This is particularly vexing.  When was there EVER any notion of cost mentioned with the establishment of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in any state?  In fact, that’s been one of opponents largest concerns – how much will this cost.  The National Conference of State Legislators doesn’t know.  Governing magazine doesn’t know.  In fact, even Oklahoma’s own legislators couldn’t have known what it would cost to implement the CCSS because they were passed into state law before they were even fully written and prepared for public view. You can’t estimate cots of an initiative for which you’re not fully familiar, but now we’re going to cry foul on costs?

Oh yes, there were a number of organizations which provided some reasonable estimates early on in the process – one even locally adapted – but these got very little discussion – as though it seemed easier to just ignore the thought and see if it would go away.  Representative Gus Blackwell attempted to bring a Task Force to bear for study of the costs of Common Core in Oklahoma during the 2013 legislative session, but that bill was blocked from a hearing on the floor after passing the rules committee resoundingly.

2.    Avoid A Shortsighted Political Takeover

Truly, this is rich.  The Common Core were installed in Oklahoma by Governor Brad Henry (D) in order to get State Fiscal Stabilization Funds and a Race to the Top Grant from the Obama Administration.  Republicans were willing participants in this initiative, Senator Clark Jolley and former Speaker of the House, now Secretary of State Chris Benge chief among them.  What in the world could be more shortsighted than a Republican legislative majority allowing the takeover of Oklahoma education via a set of education ‘reforms’ being offered by the Obama administration as carrots for federal education control – especially when they hadn’t been studied or reviewed.  Yes, the Jeb Bush-backed Foundation for Excellence in Education provided talking points for many ‘reform’ ideas, and maybe that was just enough to pacify Republican legislators into following their lead, but there is no doubt nary a single legislator did, or could have, known exactly what was in the standards when they were placed CCSS into Oklahoma state law.

3. Ready to Compete Through Higher Standards

I will concede this if anyone will please, please find me where any specific study (not paid for by Bill Gates) has shown these to be higher standards than Oklahoma’s.  In addition, please find me specific studies that point to even the notion that the use of Common Core standards are going to be the deciding factor in how well Oklahoma students compete in the global economy.

Though certain you will, you will also find studies that have concluded that the factor making the largest difference in a child’s education is his/her TEACHER.  The Fordham Foundation graded every set of educational standards in the country and compared them to the CCSS (thanks to a fat check from Bill Gates) – including Oklahoma’s.  It speaks directly to the political football the CCSS have become that the Fordham Foundation – after grading Oklahoma’s previous educational standards (PASS) to be on par with CCSS – is now printing a retraction and providing various reasons and excuses as to why they now wish to change their mind and throw Oklahoma standards under the bus.  Well, of course they want to make that analysis go away.  Anti-Common Core forces have used that analysis to show how silly it is to say that PASS aren’t appropriate for College and Career readiness and won’t prepare students to compete in a global economy – as if that’s all important in the education of a child anyway.

4.    An Opportunity to Demonstrate Political Courage

Yes, it is VERY courageous to do exactly what nearly every state in the country did all at the same time for the same initiatives to get a shot at the same money.  How many times did your mother tell you, “If Johnny jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?”  This is yet another argument that drives right at the heart of the Anti-CC argument.  It actually takes political courage NOT to do the same thing the majority of the country is doing.  It actually takes political courage to say, “Whoops, sorry, we didn’t research this initiative very well and now we realize we’ve made a mistake.  Please forgive us and let’s try to work together to go in a different direction.”

Who says this kind of stuff other than an entity bought and paid for by the Bill Gates Foundation?

5. A Political Advantage with Most Voters

           

Interesting.  The candidates for 2014 office in Oklahoma to whom I have spoken and who have commissioned a poll on Common Core have reported results showing public support for CCSS is nearly nil.  Oh yes, there is supposedly a new poll that says four star Republican voters are for CCSS, therefore any political candidate opposing CCSS could be summarily tossed, but the questions doesn’t ask, “How do you feel about the Common Core State Standards?”, it says, “How do you feel about higher standards?”   Only the truly delusional candidate and/or most out of touch policy wonk could spin that to mean Common Core.  Good grief, even despite the fact our Secretary of Education is out explaining to the public that us white moms are mad because we’ve found our kids aren’t as brilliant as we think they are, most parents WANT higher standards for their children. 

Tony Bennett was the first CCSS casualty.  He was beaten by Glenda Ritz, an unknown Democrat candidate, losing his bid to be re-elected as Indiana’s State superintendent in 2012.  Republican governor/possible presidential candidate Bobby Jindal has changed his tune on CC because his state GOP has made it an issue (just like Oklahoma and other states) – same thing with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.  A recent race in Ohio saw a long-time establishment Republican lose his seat over CCSS and Common Core supporter Governor Nathan Deal is behind his Democrat challenger in Georgia’s gubernatorial race.

           

Establishment Republicans can sit in their Ivory Towers and pray to the Gods of the polls to save their elections should they continue to beat their chest about Common Core, but that is exactly what they have been doing and why the ‘brand’ has become tarnished enough to prevent Mitt Romney from becoming POTUS in 2012.  There are moms all over Oklahoma – and the nation – who, after seeing their kid in tears at their kitchen table are prepared to vote like they may never have voted before.  These votes are wildcards that can’t be determined by voter roles and the establishment candidates know this – at this point it’s safe to say Common Core supporters are simply blustering for effect.

6.    Opponents Will Not Be Satisfied

Here is another fascinating view from the edge.  Is there a way to even rationalize this ‘reason’?  We crazy ‘opponents’ won’t be happy with anything.  Never mind that we have said we want standards – high standards – it doesn’t matter because we want them to be created inside the state where we live by actual state citizens.  Apparently Oklahomans are too moronic to create something College and Career ready for our own kids.  That job is reserved for national non-profit organizations not populated by educators or parents!  Never mind we local plain Jane parents have a vested interest in creating the highest standards in the nation in order for our kids to be the best they can be – we’re just ignoring laundry and cleaning and husbands to wage a political fight – to cry about having higher standards because our kids weren’t as smart as we thought they were after all.