WHAT’S NEXT FOR PARCC? — Fla. Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order Monday saying he wanted out of the Common Core testing consortium his state helped bring together. Scott is under pressure from tea party conservatives who oppose the common standards. “While the debate surrounding Common Core Standards has become polarized into a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ discussion, we heard during the Education Summit that most education leaders agreed on two things,” Scott said in a statement. “We agree that we should say ‘yes’ to high standards for Florida students and ‘no’ to the federal government’s overreach into our education system. Therefore, I notified the federal government that Florida would be withdrawing from PARCC, and at the same time we will hold public comment sessions to receive input on any alterations that should be made to the current Common Core Standards.”Also on Politico, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is contemplating quitting PARCC because, he soporifically claims, it's a "federalized curriculum."
If Florida departs, that leaves PARCC with about 17 members. Experts say that could drive up test costs further and prompt other state departures. New York and Arizona are considering developing their own tests. But Tennessee, Ohio, New Mexico and Illinois say they’re in it for the long haul.
Labels: common core, PARCC