Leave Common Core standards alone

Some state lawmakers apparently aren’t satisfied with underfunding public schools. They also want to undermine the state’s education standards, which could cost millions of dollars and potentially affect Advanced Placement classes and the International Baccalaureate program.

The House Education Committee held a hearing Monday on House Bill 2292, which would repeal the Kansas State Board of Education’s adoption of Common Core education standards in reading and math.

Anti-Common Core bills have become a regular occurrence in recent legislative sessions. Though there are legitimate concerns about an overemphasis on testing and how the standards were implemented in some states, much of the opposition to Common Core is based on misinformation and wild conspiracies.

Opponents of Common Core spoke at Monday’s hearing about legalized pornography, federal and corporate takeovers, and Nazi Germany.

Contrary to the claims, Common Core is not some Obama administration plot. It was initiated by the National Governors Association, and the state board and Kansas teachers were involved in developing and approving the standards.

Common Core’s goal is to better prepare students to enter college or the workforce. It sets expectations for the knowledge and skills students should have at each grade level, but local school districts control the curriculum, including what books are studied.

The state board adopted the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards, its modified version of Common Core, in 2010. School districts already have implemented the standards and begun testing.

Revoking the standards now would mean that the state wasted millions of dollars developing tests and training teachers – and could require it to spend millions more redeveloping the old standards and tests.

The bill also requires that advanced high school courses be aligned to Kansas standards, and that those standards not be dictated by an outside organization or consortium. Advanced Placement is a college-credit program operated by the College Board, a private nonprofit corporation based in New York City, and the International Baccalaureate program is tied to international education standards.

Could high schools still offer AP classes if this bill became state law? Would Wichita East High School, Haysville’s Campus High School and four other Kansas districts have to end their IB programs?

Lawrence superintendent Rick Doll also warned lawmakers that the bill could effectively shut down his district’s online school, which is used by many home-school families.

The Legislature has a constitutional responsibility to fund public education suitably. The state constitution grants the state school board responsibility for the “general supervision of public schools.”

Lawmakers should live up to their own constitutional duties and not interfere where they are not needed and don’t belong.

For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published February 24, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Leave Common Core standards alone."