More on Common Core

Huckabee Urges Oklahoma To Stick With Common Core.

The Washington Times (6/6, Wolfgang) reports that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, “a leading figure in the Republican Party...penned a letter Tuesday to lawmakers in Oklahoma, urging them to stick by” the Common Core Standards “even as Michigan, Indiana and other states have backed away from them.” The Times quotes his letter saying, “It’s disturbing to me there have been criticisms of these standards directed by other conservatives. I’ve heard the argument these standards ‘threaten local control’ of what’s being taught in Oklahoma classrooms. Speaking from one conservative to another, let me assure you this simply is not true … They’re not something to be afraid of; indeed they are something to embrace.” The Times notes that many conservatives see the Common Core as “a de facto federal takeover of education.”

Fordham Institute Defends Common Core.

In an op-ed in the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer (6/5, Finn, Petrilli), Chester E. Finn Jr. and Michael J. Petrelli, president and executive vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, write that “outside groups have been vigorously spreading misinformation about the Common Core State Standards,” but that “North Carolinians should understand that the Common Core arose as a state initiative and, with continued support, the standards will gain traction in schools and yield gains for students as well as for the state.” The writers continue to list “six strong, conservative arguments for supporting the Common Core,” including “fiscal responsibility,” “accountability,” “school choice,” and “competitiveness.”

New Hampshire Districts Facing Common Core Implementation Deadline.

In an online article headlined “Change To The Common Core Will Be ‘Messy,’” New Hampshire Public Radio (6/6, Evans-Brown) reports on the plans to transition to the Common Core Standards in New Hampshire over the next year, noting that “for some schools this will be a big change, but others are well on their way to adapting to the new academic standards.” Meanwhile, “companies are jostling to make money off of helping schools make that change.”