The debate surrounding the Common Core State Standards has been controversial since midway through the Obama presidency, and shows no sign of reaching a consensus.   Conservatives and liberals alike slam the standards as restrictive and unnecessary, a disaster for education.  Proponents of the Common Core argue that these standards are good for uniformity across the country, raising the standard we hold our students to.  Although there are several issues with the Common Core State Standards as they exist today, the system is vital to improving education across the United States. 

The Common Core State Standards were developed to standardize education across the country.  They are not the first attempt at standardizing education in the United States.  Dating back to the 1980s, education reform has been in the forefront of political discourse.  Research suggests that a work published in 1983, A Nation at Risk, was the trigger for this movement (2014).  A result of collaboration between parents, educators, experts, and state governors, the Common Core State Standards unify the states in an attempt to improve the nation’s education system.  The main purpose of these standards is to ascertain that students across the country are being equally prepared for entering either the workforce or higher education.  The standards were released in 2002, and were adopted by more than 40 of the 50 US States in 2010 (2014).  Estimates show that approximately 85% of American students live in a state that follows the Common Core State Standards (2014).

Although the Common Core State Standards face widespread criticism across partisan lines, there are many positive aspects to keeping them.  The main argument for the Common Core State Standards is that they elevate the quality and expectations of education across the country, allowing national rankings to improve.  The United States is not known for the quality of their education system, and international rankings never list the nation near the top. The United States regularly ranks poorly in comparison to other developed countries around the world, and global assessments do not reflect well on the nation’s education.  An intensifying of educational standards across the country are expected to improve the quality of education in the country.  As the most powerful nation in the world, our education system should advance the younger generation to continue this legacy of greatness.  Additionally, the benchmark tests and assessments incorporated into the Common Core State Standards allow early and quick detection of problem areas, helping teachers identify how best to help their students.  If a student is doing poorly in a specific subject or with certain skills, assessments placed throughout the curriculum will catch this early, signaling the teacher to work more closely with that student and help them succeed.  This can also be applied to an entire class.  Conversely, assessments provide a way to measure academic success as a reflection on the teacher and school.  State governments can use assessments to incentivize schools to do well, or punish schools who are not effectively implementing the standards.  Also, schools who are ranking poorly on assessments can be studied to figure out what changes need to be made in order for its students to succeed.  Lastly, a uniform set of standards, such as the Common Core State Standards, permits for smooth transitions between states, removing part of the stress for students who frequently move from state to state.  Before the standards had been implemented across the country, education varied greatly from state to state.  One state might have standards that completely contradicted those of another. This proved especially frustrating for students with “high mobility,” such as children of military families who had to move from state to state rather frequently.  With the Common Core State Standards, a student transferring from a school in one state to a school in another should be able to transition completely smoothly, since standards are the same across the board.  This also helps in comparing education quality across states. It is interesting to note that the debate around the Common Core did not become controversial until 2014, when midterm elections widened the gap between Republican and Democratic parties.  In an attempt to undermine the President and his party, Republicans began a smear campaign against the Common Core, and it worked. After 2014, Google search terms for Common Core skyrocketed, and they were always accompanied with politically charged phrases (2014).

While there are several positive aspects to keeping the Common Core State Standards, their opponents raise important concerns that should be addressed.  Many argue that the Common Core State Standards are too rigorous and rigid, placing pressure on students and teachers alike to get up to speed in a short amount of time.  In an anonymous letter to Diane Ravitch, education expert, a first grade teacher bemoans the effects the assessments have had on her students.  “My students will take keyboarding in 3rd grade so they can take the tests online…BEFORE SOME OF THEM EVEN HAVE THE PHYSICAL HAND SPAN TO USE A KEYBOARD” (2015).  In some respects, this is a valid argument. Education standards should not require children to complete tasks they are physically or mentally incapable of doing.  Contrarily, it is unfair to decry all the standards as too difficult to meet.  Perhaps one of the reasons the United States doesn’t compare to other first world countries is that the American education system is not challenging it students enough.  Second, opponents of the Common Core State Standards maintain that the standards are too test-oriented, leaving little room for creative expression and personal growth within the classroom.  In her article, “Seven Traps of the Common Core State Standards,”  Karen Eppley explains that, in the standards, reading and writing are seen solely as academic activities, and the benchmarks do not account for extraneous uses of these subjects.  “the Common Core’s answer to the question, Why read? also ignores the importance of the production of lifelong readers and the role that literacy plays in a democracy.”  The legal argument against the Common Core State Standards is that, according to the Constitution, the state government, not the federal government is, afforded the right to control education policy.  This argument is actually not relevant to the debate surrounding the Common Core State Standards.  As previously mentioned, the standards were called for, developed, and implemented through a collaboration between states, not the federal government.  Therefore, the federal government is in no way forcing the states to give up their rights on education policy. 

Even in its implementation, educators across the nation have differing and contrasting opinions on the Common Core State Standards.  Some teachers welcome the change, saying that the Common Core State Standards help students learn skills applicable beyond the classroom, contrary to previous standards which force students to memorize and regurgitate information.  Additionally, the Common Core has encouraged and expanded on a network of collaboration between teachers across the country. Online resources like Khan Academy, which comply with the guidelines in the Common Core, allows teachers to find excellent quality materials to use in their classrooms instead of having to develop their own (Welz 2017 64). Due to the abundance of these sources in comparison to non-Common Core sources, many teachers have begun to utilize them with their students, even in states that have not instated the Common Core (Heitin 2015).  On the opposite end of the spectrum, older teachers reject the standards as being too focused on assessments and results, draining the life from the classroom. One teacher writes, “There is no time for art projects or creative expression. Children can no longer choose their learning. They write to prompts and must write different genres at certain times” (2015).

Despite some major flaws in the Common Core State Standards, they are a necessary component of the American education system, and with some changes will help American students succeed in a global community.  It is important that the students of this country be competitive in a world where standards are higher than ever.  A strong education system is the first step in helping them assume their full potential.
