The Common Fear About the Common Core

by Steve Peha

A recent article in EdWeek expressed what I believe to be the common fear about the Common Core: that kids will do so poorly on Common Core-aligned tests, relative to previously used state tests, that many people will be upset, especially parents whose children have been passing state tests for years and, all of a sudden, will be failing instead.

"Even as states begin administering new tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards, they are ramping up efforts to eliminate or minimize public backlash when the scores—widely expected to be markedly lower than results from previous assessments—are released later this year."

Strangely, the Core has done what many governors and presidents could not: unite Liberals and Conservatives throughout our nation around a single policy issue—one, I might add, that is nowhere near the top of any list of national or state educational priorities.

It's really just a matter of embarrassment and, to some, perhaps a kind of breach of promise regarding how well their state has been educating their children. What most people don't know is that states determine for themselves who passes and who doesn't by setting their own cut points for passing and failing designations. So no matter how well or poorly kids do, state legislators can simply pass a law that says they did better. After all, this is exactly what has been happening in many states for the last 15-20 years.

The Common Core is a big deal but playing out the game of getting rid of it is classic “small ball” politics. School funding, teacher training (morale, evaluation, compensation, etc.), technology access, and racial injustice are far more serious and far more important to address. All states have had standards for years, and most of these standards look a lot like the Common Core.

But nothing brings arch rivals together better than fear. Faith, optimism, collegiality, goodwill—none of the better angels of our nature bring people together who don’t like each other because they hold opposing ideologies. Only fear can do that.

So what is the common fear about the Common Core?

That our kids are not doing as well academically as we would hope? That after 30+ years of education reform, we still have a very long way to go? That it is time to put away the ideologies that divide us and come together in our own best interest—and the best interests of children and the people who serve them?

Probably all of these. But most of the people I talk to are pretty sure we’re going to see incredible drops in test score performance, declines so striking that we won’t really know what to say or do about them—other than to have more states drop the Core or lower the cut points.

I think all of us understand this type of feeling. For decades, I was afraid to look at my bank balance because every time I did, it was much lower than I wanted to believe. Ignoring my finances, of course, allowed me to continue to make bad decisions. Now, at age 51, I have only begun making the roughest of plans for supporting myself in retirement. The only thing I know for sure is that I am nowhere near prepared. But knowing this at least gives me a chance to address it. It would be nice if I could pass my own law to make myself appear much wealthier than I am, but even if I could do that it would only add dishonesty to my life—and nothing to my bank account.

We all know about the dread of discovering unpleasant things that we suspect are true but cannot bring ourselves to confront. And we know, as well, that accepting reality is the only way can improve it.

This is why I support the Common Core. I don’t think it’s much better than the previous sets of standards in some U.S. states, but for me that’s not the point. The fact that Common Core states will use common tests means that we may end up at least one step closer to understanding the real problems and the fundamental inequities of our education system in unequivocal terms. (As long as state legislators don't rewrite the rule book as they have done so often in the past.)

Harder common tests also give us something we can get no other way: a more detailed glimpse into the strengths and weaknesses of education nationwide. One of the reasons we have achieved so little with reform over such a long time is that we’ve never really known very much about the problems we have. (Or if we have, we haven't admitted it.) Sure, we want kids to read, write, and do math better. But how much better? And what is better? And is better better enough?

The Common Core is far from perfect. But it’s the least imperfect mechanism we have right now to get reasonable answers to the vital questions that will help us improve American education. If someone wants to propose something better, I’ll be first in line to support it. But simply opposing it, without suggesting a better replacement, seems irrational to me. And possibly irresponsible as well. To paraphrase Winston Churchill: “The Common Core is the worst way to define academic success, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”