Today in Common Core News

New Mexico Students Score Lower On New State Standardized Tests. The AP (10/19) reports that a majority of New Mexico students failed to meet college and career readiness standards as assessed by new standardized tests developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. These tests are reportedly designed to assess students’ readiness according to Common Core standards, and raised the benchmarks for students, which school officials argue made the poor results unsurprising. Critics of the exam, however, contend that the results are inconclusive, as the test has only been newly adopted. Yet, the state’s Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera argued that the test has established a new standard and expressed confidence that scores would improve. North Carolina Academic Commission Reviews Common Core. WNCN-TV Raleigh-Durham, NC (10/19) reports the debate regarding the merits of Common Core which took place at the North Carolina Academic Standards Review Commission on Monday, at which parents expressed mixed opinions on whether the program should be kept. According to Andre Peek, co-chair of the commission, the commission’s task is to evaluate the Common Core standards and to identify areas where improvements can be made in the curriculum and method of assessment. June Atkinson, the superintendent of schools, has expressed support for the program, stating that “It’s very difficult to move away from a standard for which we hear business and industry and our universities and community colleges say these are standards that are children need in order to be successful.” New York Education Leaders Promise Review Of Common Core Standards Amid Parent Complaints. The Chalkbeat New York (10/19, Disare) reports New York education leaders “struck a measured tone when discussing the Common Core standards on Monday and pledged again to tweak the state’s math and English tests.” Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia promised that the state is reviewing Common Core standards and asked school board members to be a part of that review process. Richard Longhurst, the executive administrator of the NYS Parent Teacher Association, spoke at the same conference listing the complaints of parents about the Common Core tests. West Virginia Justices Refuse Petition Calling Common Core Illegal. The AP (10/19) reports the unanimous decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court to refuse a petition filed by Republican state Delegate Mike Folk, who contended that the Common Core standards are a violation of state and Constitutional law.