Education Secretary Arne Duncan commented on the Common Core Academic Standards which are starting to implemented all over the U.S, stating that the opposition to these standards are coming from "white suburban moms" who upon seeing their students struggle with the change realize that "their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were."
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is to provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so that teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. You can find more information about the common core here.
Why Do People Protest The Common Core?
The most common complaint from students, parents, and teachers is the overemphasis on and poor quality of standardized tests that scores are made to impose. These tests include the CAHSEE, STAR, FCAT, SSAT, SAT, and ACT exams. All of these tests are to determine the "knowledge", "critical thinking", and "college readiness" of the students, but in fact, they are not a great indicators at all.
Students who get Private Tutoring for SAT Preparation tend to score 300 points higher than their peers who don't receive private tutoring. 300 points can be the difference between going to UCLA and going to Cal State Northridge. Is it fair to assume that the student who scored 300 points higher on the SAT is that much "smarter" or "college ready" than the other student? Or is it a factor that they just learned the tips, tricks, and techniques used to maximize the score on the exam?
The emphasis on Standardized Testing is causing a large issue with parents, students, and teachers because we all know that standardized testing can not gauge true intelligence. Truthfully, humans have over 9 intelligences (musical, visual, verbal, logical, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and existential), so how is one test going to determine all of that?
Having said that, more and more students and parents are turning to companies like Tried & True Tutoring to prepare for the SAT and ACT exams, in order to score higher than their peers, and get into the university of their dreams.
Standardized testing is not the best way to measure college readiness, however, it is the best way we have available now, and the way that colleges determine who gets admitted into their schools. Therefore, until someone comes up with something better, we have to do what we have to do.
It's clearly a sensitive situation, so teachers, students, and parents are in an uproar about Arne Duncan's comments. Arne needs to consider things before he speaks, since everything he says will be dissected and discussed. His educational reform policies are not only opposed by "white suburban moms", but people of all ages and races.
