Bill Gates was a primary funder of the dumbed-down Common Core Standards and once said something about knowing if Common Core would work after a decade. Common Core was adopted by most states in 2010. We now have over a decade to see that this fad failed.
Gates now knows Common Core was a failure, but like many education reformers, they don’t learn from their mistakes. Even before COVID, the scores were in, and we could see Common Core / Next Generation Science was a failure.
Many of us tried to warn elected officials in New Hampshire that the standards were inferior. There was evidence of better quality standards and tests. That went ignored.
It’s possible the bribe, I mean the pay-off by the Feds, had something to do with that. A big payoff that came to states through the Race to the Top grants that offered a lot of money if officials adopted the dumbed-down national standards.
Those who did any kind of research could easily see that quality academic standards would serve our children the best. We had evidence that some states had already drafted quality academic standards, so why would they want to adopt the Common Core? HINT: $$$.
This battle in New Hampshire had organizations like Reaching Higher NH or Advancing New Hampshire Education, fighting to implement federal fads like Competency Based Education and Common Core. They even featured a letter sent to the State Board of Education by Former Sanborn Superintendent Brian Blake. Blake left Sanborn, worked in Hopkinton, and appears to be working in Massachusetts now. In Blake’s email to the State Board of Education, he praised the dumbed-down standards:
Dear Members of NH House Education Committee,
RE: Testimony in support of the Common Core and related issues.
I am writing this email to share my thoughts in support of the Common Core and issues related to it. As the Superintendent of Schools for the Sanborn Regional School District, I fully support the implementation of the Common Core and improved assessment practices.
The Common Core is not a new endeavor being forced upon school districts. We have been engaged in the implementation of the Common Core for the past 4 years. Given the extensive research behind the Core, the rigor of the Standards, and the need to produce students who are critical thinkers ready to tackle the challenges of the 21st century, adoption of the Core makes perfect sense. I am disheartened that the Core has been politicized to the degree it has. The Common Core is NOT a national curriculum. It contains the big ideas about what our students should know and be able to do. It does not dictate what to do or how to do it. Teachers and districts continue to have the flexibility at the local level.
In our District, we have not seen any increase in costs as a result of implementing the Common Core. Changes in educational materials aligned to the Core have been reviewed and purchased thru the normal curriculum review cycle that virtually every school district in the State follows. A “cross-walk” of the Common Core and the previous Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) shows the close alignment of our curriculum with the Core. In Sanborn, our curriculum is fully aligned to the Common Core and is being successfully implemented at this point.
Opponents of the Common Core report things like “there’s no study of Shakespeare in the Common Core”. That would be correct… The Core is NOT curriculum. There are numerous standards that apply to the study of Shakespeare, however. At Sanborn, high school students participated in a month long, intensive study of Shakespeare in the context of History, English/Language Arts, and Theater.
In terms of the Smarter Balanced Assessment, we look forward to the increased rigor of the assessment. Our teachers clearly see the value in this type of assessment versus the NECAP Assessments of the past. Opponents of the Common Core and related assessments tend to find fault with the difficulty of the assessments… Isn’t the idea that we have higher, more rigorous standards for our students? Another concern with the Smarter Balanced Assessment is technology capabilities of the Districts. In Sanborn, we have a long history of utilizing the NWEA assessments, which are computer-based assessments similar in style to the proposed Smarter Balanced Assessments. Sanborn welcomes the opportunity to participate in the Assessment program, as our students are well conditioned to this type of assessment.
To summarize, the Sanborn Regional School District has been engaged in the implementation of the Common Core for several years with great success. I am concerned that this has become such a politicized issue and encourage that the Education Committee find the bills that seek to delay, outlaw or weaken the continued development of common core based instruction and improved rigorous assessment Inexpedient to Legislate. These include: HB 1239, 1238, 1432, 1508 and others with similar intent).
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at bblake@sau17.org
Has Blake admitted that this experiment has failed students across the country? Or is he hoping that no one realizes that he went out of this way to support the dumbing-down of New Hampshire Schools? Here’s how Sanborn is doing when it comes to proficiency in the core subjects:
That’s not exactly a stellar performance from a Superintendent who fought to keep the dumbed-down Common Core in New Hampshire’s public schools. 24% of the high school students are proficient in math!! At what point do you admit you were wrong? How many of Sanborn’s students were denied opportunities after graduating from these public schools?
Sanborn was called out by some of their high school graduates several years ago.
Is Sanborn Lying to Parents?
These administrators jump from district to district, and sometimes, leave a trail of failures in their path. You would think at some point, they’d be held accountable in some way.
Even the Brookings Institute acknowledged this failure: Why Common Core Failed
More than a decade after the 2010 release of Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics, no convincing evidence exists that the standards had a significant, positive impact on student achievement. Mar 18, 2021
Jason Zimba, one of the mathematicians who developed the Common Core math standards has to tutor his children in math because of the poor quality of math education his children are receiving with Common Core curriculum. Just think about all of the kids who are not receiving that kind of individualized instruction. How many are falling through the cracks?
The Man Behind Common Core Math
Today public schools in New Hampshire are saddled with this lousy curriculum for their children because of Superintendents like Brian Blake. His advocacy for the dumbed-down standards caused the Governor and the State Board of Ed to back off of improving the standards.
There were plenty of organizations that fought to keep the Common Core in New Hampshire. They are all responsible for this failure to improve our public schools. The Governor didn’t have enough drive to fight this fight for your kids. That’s why it’s important to make sure the next Governor puts your children, and your public schools FIRST.
