From Diane Ravitch’s Blog

There has been much debate about who wrote the Common Core standards.

Here is a press release that lists the names of the writing teams for each subject as well as “feedback” groups.

You will notice a large representation of people from the testing industry (College Board and ACT), as well as people from Achieve, a D.C. think tank.

Notice that the statement says:

“The Work Group’s deliberations will be confidential throughout the process.”

Notice that the statement says:

“Final decisions regarding the common core standards document will be made by the Standards Development Work Group. The Feedback Group will play an advisory role, not a decision-making role in the process.”

Count how many people on either the writing teams or the feedback groups are identified as classroom teachers. Count how many have any experience in teaching children with disabilities. Count how many are experienced in teaching early childhood classes or English language learners.

Compare that number–whatever it may be–to the number who are experienced in testing and assessment.

From a NGA Press Release in 2009

The Standards Development Work Group is currently engaged in determining and writing the college and career readiness standards in English-language arts and mathematics. This group is composed of content experts from Achieve, Inc., ACT, and the College Board. This group will be expanded later in the year to include additional experts to develop the standards for grades K-12 in English language arts and mathematics. Additionally, CCSSO and the NGA Center have selected an independent facilitator and an independent writer as well as resource advisors to support each content area work group throughout the standards development process. The Work Group's deliberations will be confidential throughout the process. States and national education organizations will have an opportunity to review and provide evidence-based feedback on the draft documents throughout the process.

The members of the mathematics Work Group are:

• Sara Clough, Director, Elementary and Secondary School Programs, Development, Education Division, ACT, Inc.
• Phil Daro, Senior Fellow, America's Choice
• Susan K. Eddins, Educational Consultant, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (Retired)
• Kaye Forgione, Senior Associate and Team Leader for Mathematics, Achieve
• John Kraman, Associate Director, Research, Achieve
• Marci Ladd, Mathematics Consultant, The College Board & Senior Manager and Mathematics Content Lead, Academic Benchmarks
• William McCallum, University Distinguished Professor and Head, Department of Mathematics, The University of Arizona &Mathematics Consultant, Achieve
• Sherri Miller, Assistant Vice President, Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) Development, Education Division, ACT, Inc.
• Ken Mullen, Senior Program Development Associate—Mathematics, Elementary and Secondary School Programs, Development, Education Division, ACT, Inc.
• Robin O'Callaghan, Senior Director, Mathematics, Research and Development, The College Board
• Andrew Schwartz, Assessment Manager, Research and Development, The College Board
• Laura McGiffert Slover, Vice President, Content and Policy Research, Achieve
• Douglas Sovde, Senior Associate, Mathematics, Achieve
• Natasha Vasavada, Senior Director, Standards and Curriculum Alignment Services, Research and Development, The College Board
• Jason Zimba, Faculty Member, Physics, Mathematics, and the Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Bennington College and Cofounder, Student Achievement Partners

Members of the English-language Arts Work Group are:

• Sara Clough, Director, Elementary and Secondary School Programs, Development, Education Division, ACT, Inc.
• David Coleman, Founder, Student Achievement Partners
• Sally Hampton, Senior Fellow for Literacy, America's Choice
• Joel Harris, Director, English Language Arts Curriculum and Standards, Research and Development, The College Board
• Beth Hart, Senior Assessment Specialist, Research and Development, The College Board
• John Kraman, Associate Director, Research, Achieve
• Laura McGiffert Slover, Vice President, Content and Policy Research, Achieve
• Nina Metzner, Senior Test Development Associate—Language Arts, Elementary and Secondary School Programs, Development, Education Division, ACT, Inc.
• Sherri Miller, Assistant Vice President, Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) Development, Education Division, ACT, Inc.
• Sandy Murphy, Professor Emeritus, University of California – Davis
• Jim Patterson, Senior Program Development Associate—Language Arts, Elementary and Secondary School Programs, Development, Education Division, ACT, Inc.
• Sue Pimentel, Co-Founder, StandardsWork; English Language Arts Consultant, Achieve
• Natasha Vasavada, Senior Director, Standards and Curriculum Alignment Services, Research and Development, The College Board
• Martha Vockley, Principal and Founder, VockleyLang, LLC

Also, as a step in the standards development process, the NGA Center and CCSSO are overseeing the work of a Feedback Group. The role of this Feedback Group is to provide information backed by research to inform the standards development process by offering expert input on draft documents. Final decisions regarding the common core standards document will be made by the Standards Development Work Group. The Feedback Group will play an advisory role, not a decision-making role in the process.

Members of the mathematics Feedback Group are:

• George Andrews, The Pennsylvania State University, Evan Pugh Professor of Mathematics
• Hyman Bass, University of Michigan, Samuel Eilenberg Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics & Mathematics Education
• David Bressoud, Macalester College, DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics & President, Mathematical Association of America
• John Dossey, Illinois State University, Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics Emeritus
• Scott Eddins, Tennessee Department of Education, Mathematics Coordinator & President, Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM)
• Brian Gong, The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, Executive Director
• Kenji Hakuta, Stanford University, Professor of Education
• Roger Howe, Yale University, Professor of Mathematics
• Henry S. Kepner, Jr., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Professor, Curriculum & Instruction and Mathematical Sciences
• Suzanne Lane, University of Pittsburgh, Professor in the Research Methodology Program, School of Education
• Robert Linn, University of Colorado, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and Co-Director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST)
• Jim Milgram, Stanford University, Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, Department of Mathematics
• Fabio Milner, School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Arizona State University, Director, Mathematics for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
• Roxy Peck, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Associate Dean, College of Science and Mathematics and Professor of Statistics
• Nora Ramirez, TODOS: Mathematics for ALL, President
• William Schmidt, Michigan State University, College of Education, University Distinguished Professor
• Uri Treisman, University of Texas, Professor of Mathematics and Public Affairs & Executive Director, Charles A. Dana Center
• Vern Williams, Mathematics Teacher, HW Longfellow Middle School, Fairfax County, Virginia Public Schools
• W. Stephen Wilson, Johns Hopkins University, Professor of Mathematics

Members of the English-language Arts Feedback Group are:

• Peter Afflerbach, University of Maryland, Professor
• Arthur Applebee, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) Distinguished Professor & Chair, Department of Educational Theory & Practice, School of Education
• Mark Bauerlein, Emory University, Professor of English
• Mary Bozik, University of Northern Iowa, Professor, Communication Studies
• Don Deshler, University of Kansas, Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Special Education & Director, Center for Research on Learning
• Checker Finn, Fordham Institute Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University & President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Brian Gong, The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, Executive Director
• Kenji Hakuta, Stanford University, Professor of Education
• Carol Jago, University of California – Los Angeles, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) President-elect, California Reading and Literature Project
• Jeanneine Jones, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, Professor
• Michael Kamil, Stanford University, Professor, School of Education
• Suzanne Lane, University of Pittsburgh, Professor in the Research Methodology Program, School of Education
• Carol Lee, Northwestern University, Professor of Education and Social Policy
• Robert Linn, University of Colorado, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and Co-Director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST)
• Dolores Perin, Columbia University, Associate Professor of Psychology and Education
• Tim Shanahan, University of Illinois at Chicago, Professor, Urban Education
• Catherine Snow, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor
• Doranna Tindle, Friendship Public Charter Schools, Instructional Performance Coach