Fwd: "Common Core" School Standards Roll On Without Supporting Evidence

[Monty Neill <monty@fairtest.org>]

About half the states have now adopted the Common Core standards, with 
others making the decision in the next couple weeks as a deadline for 
winning points in a state's application in round 2 of RTTT funding draws 
near (Aug 2). Mathis concludes standards won't make much of a difference 
in educational outcomes. Monty

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	"Common Core" School Standards Roll On Without Supporting 
Evidence
Date: 	Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:35:17 -0400
From: 	Great Lakes Center <listserve@greatlakescenter.org>
Reply-To: 	listserve@greatlakescenter.org
To: 	monty@fairtest.org




http://www.greatlakescenter.org

*"Common Core" School Standards Roll On Without Supporting Evidence*
July 21, 2010

*Despite Obama administration claims, research finds no link between 
achievement scores and academic standards*

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*Contact: *Teri Battaglieri -- (517) 203-2940; 
greatlakescenter@greatlakescenter.org 
<mailto:greatlakescenter@greatlakescenter.org>
               William J. Mathis -- (802) 383-0058; 
William.Mathis@colorado.edu <mailto:William.Mathis@colorado.edu>

EAST LANSING, Mi., July 21, 2010---Very little evidence supports the 
contention that establishing national academic standards for K-12 
schools will improve the quality of American public education, and the 
standards push may distract attention from other vital school reforms, 
concludes a new policy brief, /The "Common Core" Standards Initiative: 
An Effective Reform Tool?/

The brief, authored by William J. Mathis, was released today by the 
Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

"Without addressing both the in-school and out-of-school influences on 
test scores, common core standards are not likely to improve the quality 
and equity of America's public schools," Mathis explains.

The Obama administration has embraced "common core" standards and has 
pressured states to adopt them by stating that federal Title I aid will 
be withheld from states that do not adopt standards such as those being 
developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief 
State School Officers. In addition, states that adopt the standards have 
a major advantage on their Race to the Top applications.

Standards advocates argue that common standards are necessary for 
keeping the nation competitive in a global economy. But Mathis points 
out that research does not support this oft-expressed rationale. No 
studies support a true causal relationship between national standards 
and economic competitiveness, and at the most superficial level we know 
that nations with centralized standards generally tend to perform no 
better (or worse) on international tests than those without. Further, 
research shows that national economic competitiveness is influenced far 
more by economic decisions than by test scores.

Mathis also raises questions about the rapid development of the 
common-core standards, the lack of field testing, and the overarching 
need for any high-stakes consequences to be "valid," pursuant to 
established professional guidelines. Given these concerns, he says that 
the prospect of positive effects on educational quality or equality 
"seems improbable."

Find William Mathis's report, /The "Common Core" Standards Initiative: 
An Effective Reform Tool?/ on the web at:
http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_Briefs/Mathis_NationalStandards.pdf
/
This policy brief was produced by the Education and the Public Interest 
Center (EPIC) at the University of Colorado and the Education Policy 
Research Unit (EPRU) at Arizona State University with funding from the 
Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice./

*About The Great Lakes Center*
The mission of the Great Lakes Center is to improve public education for 
all students in the Great Lakes region through the support and 
dissemination of high quality, academically sound research on education 
policy and practices.

Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org.

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--
Monty Neill, Ed.D.; Interim Executive Director, FairTest; 15 Court Sq., 
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