NJ Left Behind: Reactions to Christie's Common Core Flip-Flop

Wall Street Journal: "Anthony Scotto, a Barnegat Township, N.J., curriculum director and representative of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, said his teachers had worked hard to adjust to the standards, liked them, and should be given the chance to see how students fared under them before another change. 'We want tough standards and they’re present in the Common Core,' he said."

And, "Wendell Steinhauer, president of the NJEA, said it made no sense to keep the PARCC tests, which are aligned to the Common Core, if the continuation of the standards they reflect is uncertain. He said the governor’s announcement would be confusing to teachers, who might be unsure about what they’re expected to focus on teaching."

PolitickerNJ: “'This will in no way affect our efforts to continue effective testing and measurement of our students through the PARCC test. We must continue to review and improve that test based on results, not fear or speculation,' Christie said. 'I will not permit New Jersey to risk losing vital federal education funds because some would prefer to let the perfect get in the way of the good. We must test our children because federal law requires it and because it is the only way to objectively judge our progress. Bringing educational standards home to New Jersey does nothing to change those obligations.'”

NJ Spotlight: “'What this means is the work we have been doing for the last three or four years in aligning everything to the standards is taking another shift,' said Emil Carafa, a principal in Lodi and past president of the state’s principals association. 'We were just getting comfortable and knowledgeable with the standards, and this now uproots that,' he said. 'It uproots everything we have been working on.'”

"Others point to how Christie only last year appointed a state task force to examine the state’s use of PARCC and other assessments – and the fact that the task force has yet to issue any report. 'We haven’t released our report, we don’t know what PARCC has done,' said Nicole Moore, a school principal in Shamong who is a member of that task force. 'We are still doing our work, and to say otherwise is premature. And this puts us in a tricky position.'"

Star-Ledger: "Gov. Chris Christie's declaration that Common Core is 'simply not working' made national headlines on Thursday and realigned his stance with the Republican Party's conservative base. But despite Christie's rhetoric, it's possible that Common Core standards — called by that name or not — will remain in place, state education experts and leaders said. 'You keep the car. You just change the color of the paint,' said Christopher Tienken, an associate professor of education at Seton Hall University.'"

"'We all have supported Common Core and we think they are good standards,' [Patricia] Wright, [Executive Director of the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association] said. 'The bulk of Common Core will remain.'"

The Record: "Wright said she was optimistic that the Christie effort would be only a review. 'A lot of time, energy and resources have been put into the development of curriculum around the Common Core, the purchasing of materials that align to those standards and so that work has been ongoing,' she said."

CNN: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is bailing on Common Core education standards, continuing his shift to the right of candidates like Jeb Bush and John Kasich ahead of a likely bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

In a major speech Thursday, Christie said he's pulling his state out of the standards -- which are hated by conservative primary voters who see Common Core as a prime example of federal overreach -- that New Jersey had adopted just five years earlier under his watch.

It's the latest move to the right for a presidential contender who has also backed away from his previous position on immigration."

Huffington Post: "Either way, it is not clear how much opinions about Common Core may impact the presidential prospects of Christie or any other potential nominee. When Bloomberg and Purple Strategies interviewed a small, Iowa-based focus group this month about Bush's position on the Common Core, participants didn't seem to care much about the issue. In a February NBC/Marist poll, 65 percent of registered voters in Iowa said they would find it acceptable if a candidate supported the Common Core."

The Hill: "Christie’s decision will be viewed in light of his political ambitions. He’s considering running for president but trails badly in the polls as he seeks to recover from the scandal surrounding lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. Common Core has become toxic on the right, with virtually every Republican presidential candidate except for Jeb Bush vowing to kill the standards if elected president."

Washington Post: "Emmett McGroarty, education director for the conservative American Principles Project, has said that Common Core will be a litmus test for the GOP primary, and that no candidate who supports the standards will become the party’s nominee."

Think Progress; "Although it has become a galvanizing issue on the right, a February NBC/Marist poll shows 65 percent of registered voters in Iowa stated that they would find it totally or mostly acceptable for a candidate to support Common Core standards."