Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Eleanor Chute

September 8, 2014

Gov. Tom Corbett today issued a news release calling for “continued public review” of state standards in English language arts and math in elementary and secondary public schools.

The standards, known as the Pennsylvania Core, already are being put into place in schools throughout the state. Some districts have spent considerable time and money to update their instruction.

The Pennsylvania Core was approved by the state Board of Education in September last year and is intended to demand higher analytical thinking than past standards. It is the state’s version of the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by most states along with some state-specific modifications.

The governor’s news release calls this the “final phase in his nearly three-year effort to permanently roll back the national Common Core plan implemented by his predecessor, Gov. (Ed) Rendell.”

In 2010, the state Board of Education approved the Common Core State Standards, which were developed by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers. The Common Core provided national standards as well as an opportunity for states to add some state-specific standards. At the time, Pennsylvania gave districts three years to implement the new standards.

While most states adopted the Common Core State Standards, there has been some pushback since then in some states that have questioned federal involvement.

Last year, Pennsylvania made some changes from the 2010 version, although much of the Common Core remains.

Mr. Corbett views the state board’s action in 2013 the beginning of “the formal process of repealing and replacing the national Common Core Standards with the Pennsylvania-specific standards.”

In the news release, Mr. Corbett said, “I am now asking the State Board to continue the process we began at the start of my term and to ensure that any final influence of the national Common Core State Standards is eradicated from Pennsylvania.”

Mr. Corbett said the Common Core has been “overly influenced by the federal government,” calling it “nothing more than a top-down takeover of the education system.”

Mr. Corbett said acting Education Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq this week will ask the state board to conduct “immediate hearings.” As part of a review, he said Ms. Dumaresq will work with “top national experts, top tier universities, teachers and parents to ensure the current and future needs of our children are being met in the classroom.”

(Eleanor Chute,"Corbett urges state to continue reviewing national common core education standards," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/8/14)