Indiana superintendent admits Common Core REBRAND
The superintendent of Franklin County School District sent the following letter to a parent who complained that her child’s school was still using Common Core. The parent demanded an explanation as to why Governor Pence’s legislation to void Common Core was being ignored. The superintendent responded with the following letter dated September 21, 2014. Her supporting documentation showing the “new” standards mirror the Common Core is provided below the letter with a link.
Dear XXXXX,
As a fellow educator, I too am frustrated with “outside forces” and politicians determining the curriculum
for our students. I am aware that early last spring Governor Pence made front page news declaring that
Indiana was not going to move forward with Common Core. In lieu of Common Core, Indiana has
adopted Indiana College and Career Academic Standards. For your perusal I have attached a document
obtained from the Indiana Department of Education that compares the new Indiana Academic Standards
with the Common Core Standards. We have highlighted the commonalities. As you can see, the “new”
Indiana Standards practically mirror the Common Core Standards that the Governor “withdrew” from.As you know, we are being told that beginning this year, our students will be tested on these new Indiana
Standards. In order to prepare our students for the tests we have been forced to look at supplemental
math resources that more closely align with the new standards that will be tested.I can only assume that the school corporation you work in is making similar adjustments.
Sincerely,
Dr. Debbie Howell
Here is the correlation document the superintendent provided for second grade which shows the “new” Indiana standards “mirror” the Common Core.correlations doc
If Gov. Pence plans to run for president, this was not a good way for him to ignite what would have been his base. This may haunt him as much as Jeb Bush’s close ties to Common Core State Standards. Too bad, because we really need solid conservative leadership in the White House as soon as possible.
Leaders–too much is at stake for our children, and for that matter our country to sell them out to the Common Core State Standards.
Is it probable that conservatives are just not very good at leading in the field of education?
Some, perhaps. However, liberals have done far more damage to the state of this country’s education of children than any conservatives–individually and combined.
Hi Erin,
While I lie on the opposite end of things when it comes to my support for Common Core (ELA), I would support the notion that teachers, supers and educators in Indiana are thinking about the new IAS as Common Core dressed up in different clothes. For this reason, it seems reasonable to me that many educators are continuing to prepare students for future assessments in the same way they were under Common Core. Just take a look at this DOE Powerpoint: http://www.doe.in.gov/standards/breakout-session-secondary-ela-educator. The points and examples could be easily replicated in other states that have NOT abandoned Common Core! Check out the assessment examples–very similar to what we expect to see on the now abandoned PARCC assessment.
A brief editorial on the examples. Frankly I think the DOE is getting it right with what I’ve seen from the new test. Can we really say that the old ISTEP+ had writing prompts that looked as text-dependent as these?? Perhaps a valuable byproduct of Common Core’s influence on conventional assessment wisdom?! So I guess while we disagree about the value of Common Core ELA, we can at least agree that Indiana is continuing to endorse the spirit of Common Core:)