Common Core’s David Coleman calls poor kids “low hanging fruit”

In detailing how the College Board is taking a leadership role in propelling children into college through their new Access to Rigor Campaign, David Coleman the president of the College Board and architect of the Common Core calls low income children “low hanging fruit.” In his condescending manner, he jokingly says maybe he should consider another term, but he’ll use it anyway. It was elitism at its highest, first make a joke about the little people, then preach about how you’re so benevolent and determined to help them. It reminded me of Thurston Howell III making a joke to his wife, Lovey, on Gilligan’s Island.

His sermon continues on to outline how the College Board wants to partner with researchers to ensure they are specifically identifying these children with data and forming programs around it. He should have named the program Access to Data Campaign.  Before several data groups, he encouraged them to  share their data on children and collect information that would be helpful in identifying students that need intervention and help in reaching and completing college. He will do his part as president of the College Board and share all their student data- for FREE!

The Access to Rigor Campaign, he claims,  is like a presidential campaign based  on “ruthless” methods. He is partnering with the Obama Administration’s campaign data team members to use the same techniques on data collection and use of data. This “treasure trove” of student data will be fully utilized under their leadership to drive everything in education from defining effective teachers to determining which students need further interventions inside and outside of the school building. The College Board’s data will no longer be a vault of information on data, the researchers will get full access. No specifics were given on how privacy would be kept intact, just a promise to unlock “the vault of information” held by the College Board.