Why Some Oppose Common Core Standards Essay

Common Core Standards

Opponents of Common Core Standards have their points to make, and proponents have their key points to make as well. Which point-of-view will prevail in the long run? That question is impossible to answer but presenting both sides is what this paper sets out to do. Both sides of the issue have quality points to make, and they will be reflected here.

Point: The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) insists that these standards are created to build upon the "most advanced current thinking about preparing all students for success in college, career, and life." Right now there are many inconsistencies in the tests as they vary from one state to another, and allowing states to share practices and experiences will be beneficial to all areas of the country, according to the Public School Review (2010).

Counterpoint: There is no evidence that establishing national standards for K-12 public schools will greatly improve public education, according to William J. Mathis, director of the Education and Public Interest Center in Boulder, Colorado, at the University of Colorado. Moreover, the problem with the Common Core Standards is that it assumes parents will be anxious to measure the progress of not just their children who are students, but also will want to evaluate teachers -- and to have the best teachers rewarded.That particular issue is part of the reason the teachers unions object to Common Core Standards -- that evaluating the effectiveness of teachers based on how students do, and rewarding the best teachers, is wrong (Washington Post).

Point: By adopting common standards for the whole country, that will mean "bringing all states' standards down to the lowest common denominator," which will mean states with the highest standards "…are actually taking a step backwards" when they agree to adopt Common Core standards (CCSSI "Myths vs. Facts")

Counterpoint: The standards will result in bringing even the best standards in the best states for education "to the next level…[and in fact] there is "an explicit agreement" that not one state will be in a position to lower its standards once the Common Core standards are in place. Moreover, the standards were "informed by the best in the country," and….....