Beginning in 2010, more than 40 states adopted the Common Core State Standards. In the years immediately following their adoption, educators, parents, and policymakers familiar with the standards strongly supported them. They recognized the failure of previous education standards to prepare students for life after high school, and they agreed that all students should be held to high expectations and taught the knowledge and skills needed to succeed the 21st century. Both Republicans and Democrats heralded the Common Core as one of the most promising school reforms in decades.
Fast forward to today—a midterm election year—and the Common Core is a deeply controversial topic, despite the fact that the standards have not changed since they were first released. In the past year, two states—Indiana and Oklahoma—have withdrawn entirely from the Common Core, claiming the federal government has poisoned an otherwise positive education reform. In addition, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) attempted to unilaterally repeal the standards and is now in a dispute with the state education board and the state superintendent.
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