Common Core data privacy

State Membership in Common Core Test Consortia Down By 62 Percent

In 2010, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) indicated they had gathered 26 and 32 member states, respectively. But, by the start of 2016, 38 states had left one or both consortia, reports pro-Common Core Education Next.

In this Nov. 17, 2015 photo, a student works in an eighth grade algebra class at Holy Spir

Marco Rubio Once Supported Ideas Behind Common Core

Though Marco Rubio has consistently opposed the Common Core standards initiative and its federal intrusion into an area reserved for the states by the Constitution, GOP rival Jeb Bush observed recently that Rubio once supported Race to the Top, the vehicle used by the Obama administration to incentivize states to adopt the education reform.

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., arrives at a town hall in Wes

Senate Poised To Pass NCLB Rewrite, Alexander and Murray Congratulate Each Other on ‘Bipartisanship’

Alexander, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees education, and ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, congratulated each other numerous times on the floor of the Senate for completing the 1,061-page “bipartisan” conference legislation, much of which was apparently crafted behind closed doors and passed by the House last week after having been published for review only two days earlier.

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Obama: Arne Duncan Has ‘Delivered Some Incredible Results’

Obama’s comments appear to be a reference to the Common Core standards – though he does not call the reform by name, likely because the unpopular initiative is now often described as “toxic” and “poisonous.” The president nevertheless adopts the usual pro-Common Core position that the nationalized standards are higher or more rigorous than other standards – although there is no independent research that validates that claim.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (R) visits with sixth grade

Feds Admit U.S. Education Department ‘Forced’ States To Accept Common Core From Its Start

In a remarkable admission, the former director of the Race to the Top (RttT) competitive grant program and chief of staff to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the federal government “forced” full support for adoption of the Common Core standards from each state by requiring its governor, chief state school officer, and head of the state board of education to sign off on the grant application.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (R) visits with sixth grade