More Groups Expressing Concerns About Common Core

NPR (5/1, Lieszkovszky) reports in a "StateImpact" Piece that though opposition to the Common Core started with the tea party, "teachers unions in Ohio say they have their own concerns, mostly about the tests that will accompany the new curriculum." The article describes opposition to "loss of local control of schools" and the Common Core's focus on non-fiction texts among conservatives, adding that now "some on the left are worried about" the standards. Teachers unions, the article reports, want to "slow down parts of its implementation." The article states that the Administration is unhappy with the new opposition, and quotes Education Secretary Arne Duncan saying, "If any state wants to lower their standards, dummy down their standards they have the right to do that. They can do that tomorrow. I don't see how that educates children or helps to bring good jobs to a state."

Meanwhile, the Clarksville (TN) Leaf Chronicle (5/1, Johnson) reports that the Common Core Standards' backers "say they're needed to better prepare students for college and the workforce, but critics of the measures contend they don't know enough about them and are concerned about the federal government's involvement." The piece describes a recent panel discussion in Nashville "that highlighted concerns ranging from the cost to implement the common core state standards to how involved the federal government will be in developing them." The paper reports that "a growing number of such events" are taking place across the country.