Heritage.org has released a new report that states that the new Common Core “alignment” by the ACT, SAT, and GED exams “raises questions about the impact Common Core will have on private and homeschooled students and their ability to ‘opt out’ of the federally incentivized standards if they want to apply for college.”
An article in Education Week indicated that David Coleman, the new president of the College Board and one of the chief architects of the Common Core State Standards, said that he wants the college entrance test to reflect the new standards.
“The Common Core provides substantial opportunity to make the SAT even more reflective of what higher educations wants,” Coleman said.
According to the Washington Post, College Board vice-president Peter Kauffmann said the following email was sent to all members of the College Board:
In the months ahead, the College Board will begin an effort in collaboration with its membership to redesign the SAT® so that it better meets the needs of students, schools, and colleges at all levels. We will develop an assessment that mirrors the work that students will do in college so that they will practice the work they need to do to complete college. An improved SAT will strongly focus on the core knowledge and skills that evidence shows are most important to prepare students for the rigors of college and career. This is an ambitious endeavor, and one that will only succeed with the leadership of our Board of Trustees, the strong coordination of our councils and committees, and the full engagement of our membership.
Brittany Corona, writing for Heritage.org, states that alignment of the Common Core standards with tests such as the SAT, ACT, and GED “poses new questions about the extent to which states, private schools, and homeschooled students will be compelled to accept national standards and tests.”
Corona writes:
Even in states that do not sign on to Common Core, schools could find themselves having to align content with Common Core material in order to ensure student success on the SAT or ACT–something that could affect private schools.
Moreover, recent alignment of the GED assessment, sometimes used by homeschoolers to demonstrate content mastery, could pull homeschoolers into the Common Core web…
The GED has just completed a major modification and will begin using its new version of the test in 2014. The GED Testing Service gives its reason for revising the test as, “The shift to the Common Core standards is happening nationwide at the current time.”
In May, former Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) and supporter of homeschooling, wrote in the Albany Tribune:
Sadly, but not surprisingly, instead of improving education by repealing No Child Left Behind’s testing and other mandates, the Obama administration is increasing national control over schools via the “Common Core” initiative. Common Core is a new curriculum developed by a panel of so-called education experts. The administration is trying to turn Common Core into a national curriculum by offering states increased federal education funding if they impose Common Core’s curriculum on their public schools. This is yet another example of the government using money stolen from the people to bribe states into obeying federal dictates…
I believe it is important for those of us concerned with education and liberty to fight our battles locally. We must oppose further encroachment on the autonomy of local public schools and work to roll-back existing interference, while encouraging and supporting the growth of homeschooling and other alternative education movements. The key to restoring quality education is to replace the bureaucratic control of education with a free-market in education. Parents should have the freedom to select the type of education that best suits their child’s unique needs.
Though 45 states have adopted the Common Core standards, the new curriculum initiative has come under fire as yet another federal education program that blocks states and local school boards from having input in education decisions.
Corona suggests that if a significant number of states pull out of Common Core, the college admission tests can be modified, or the market could allow room for other college entrance exams.
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