When Has Federal Money Been Used to Create State Standards?

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When Has Federal Money Been Used to Create State Standards? By Andrew Ujifusa on February 11, 2014 11:23 AM Tweet

UPDATED

As part of the effort by business groups and other friends of the Common Core State Standards to buttress support for them this year, a new website from the Higher State Standards Partnership aims to counter myths about the standards with facts. As part of this effort, the site, which is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, addresses one prominent claim about the standards: that the federal government created them and manages them in the states. Here's how the site responds to that claim:

No one has presented any credible evidence that the common core was federally funded. Just because the feds support an initiative like common core doesn't mean they paid for it. However, the second sentence in that mythbusting "fact" is what caught my attention, and so I highlighted it. That statement covers education policy territory well before common core and even No Child Left Behind. Let's examine it.

I asked the U.S. Chamber for the evidence supporting the statement. The Chamber sent me testimony from Michael Cohen, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. department and now the president of Achieve, a nonprofit that helped to develop the common core, to the Michigan House of Representatives last July. Cohen provides a lot of interesting history about state standards—on the subject of this particular inquiry, he pointed to the initiative by then-Secretary of Education Lamar Alexandar (now a Republican U.S. senator) in 1990 to provide $40 million to "nearly every state" to help underwrite the development of content standards. The 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Cohen notes, required states to have content standards as a condition for receiving Title I funds. NCLB, remember, also requires states to have standards in order to receive federal cash.

The administration of President George H.W. Bush also provided financial support for national organizations to develop content standards in various subjects. And the Goals 2000 program under the Bill Clinton administration also included standards creation as a key element.

Here's how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Education and Workforce program summarized the statement to me:

@StateEdWatch They were either through direct grants to develop standards or states received fed funds as condition of developing standards

— USCCF Ed & Workforce (@USCCFeducation) February 7, 2014

Based on that statement, it seems as though the claim rests (in part) on the idea that if standards are a requirement for states to receive money from Washington like Title I dollars, that means it's fair to say the standards are federally funded. But is that logically consistent? That description makes the standards sound more like an unfunded mandate from Washington, rather than a federally funded initiative. The U.S. Chamber isn't claiming that funds as dictated by NCLB directly funded standards, only that without standards, states couldn't get funds like Title I.

I called up a state that hasn't adopted the common core, Virginia, to ask if its content standards, called the Standards of Learning, have been federally funded. Julie Grimes, the patient spokeswoman for the state education department, subsequently provided a very detailed answer. 

Federal Title II dollars are intended to support the recruitment and development of high-quality teachers and principals. Grimes highlighted Title II Section A money that in Virginia has been used to help teachers review the Standards of Learning. That review helps the teachers prepare to use the standards in the classroom, since, Grimes pointed out, the state doesn't want to "just spring" new standards on educators. But It doesn't give those teachers input or power as the standards are being created. 

"That is not the same as developing the standards," Grimes wrote to me in an email about the Title II Section A cash.

The Virginia Department of Education develops the Standards of Learning, Grimes said, using state and not federal money. 

As I said at the beginning of the post, the federal role in common core's progress will get a lot of hackles up. It's interesting that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable felt the need not just to rebut claims about Washington and the common core, an understandable move backed up by the facts, but to make a broader statement about content standards that, if you talk to Virginia at least, is inaccurate. 

UPDATE: On the point of NCLB funding for standards, I should point out that Title VI under federal education law does provide money to help states develop "additional standards" to meet federal requirements if necessary. (Thanks to Chad Colby at Achieve for pointing this out.) If a state's standards already meet those requirements, however, it can use this money for tests or other matters. So to call state standards strictly an unfunded mandate under NCLB is off the mark.

The question of how many states didn't use that earmarked Title VI money to develop standards, at the same time that they were reviewing and updating standards, isn't one I'll try to answer here. The Virginia Department of Education's response is clear. Still, given the history of the federal government's involvement, it's clear that Washington has long had a direct interest in content standards, and has in fact put some money on the table to ease them along in the last 25 years. ?

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Examining How Common Core and Indiana's Draft Standards Differ

Examining How Common Core and Indiana's Draft Standards Differ - State EdWatch - Education Week _hbEvent = function(param){}; function _hbSend(){} function _hbLink(p1, p2){} function _hbPageView(p1, p2){} Education WeekTeacherDigital DirectionsIndustry & InnovationTopSchoolJobsShop Annual ReportsBooksBack IssuesEdweek SpotlightsSubscriptionsSite LicensesReprintsAdvertise Recruitment AdvertisingDisplay AdvertisingWhite PapersProfessional Development DirectoryAdvanced Search March 4, 2014 Login | Register | Subscribe
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Examining How Common Core and Indiana's Draft Standards DifferBy Andrew Ujifusa on February 20, 2014 11:25 AM Tweet

Now that Indiana has released the draft version of English/language arts and math standards intended to replace the Common Core State Standards, we can try to discern where the standards actually differ.

As a sample, let's look at the youngest students—kindergarteners—and see how the two sets of standards handle the teaching of measurement and data. I chose this area in part because the language and concepts will be as basic (and therefore, hopefully, as clear) as possible. Here's a screenshot of the standards in the Indiana College and Career Ready Standards:

In those draft Indiana standards, the three standards above the grey bar are for measurement, the three below are for data.

Now, here's how the Common Core State Standards deal with measurement and data for kindergarteners:

Some initial, superficial observations are that there are only three discrete standards in the common core in this area, while there are a total of six in Indiana's draft standards. This isn't surprising, since one of common core's main selling points is that it requires teachers to address fewer content standards across the board, but allows them to address each standard that is included in more detail in their classrooms. 

One other thing that jumps out quickly is that the third standard from Indiana is the same, word for word, as the first standard from common core: "Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object."

Now, look at the first standard from Indiana. It asks students to make direct comparisons between two objects and recognize the differences between them. It specifies a number of ways the two objects can be distinguished, such as length, weight, and temperature. Now contrast it to the second standard from common core, which also asks students to compare two objects, but doesn't ennumerate the different categories through which the objects can be distinguished. It provides an example and asks students to describe the difference, which the Indiana standard doesn't explicitly do. The common core standard also seems to leave more latitude in terms of how the objects can be compared.

One notable contrast is the second Hoosier standard, which requires students to understand concepts of time, such as morning and afternoon, and also to recognize that calendars and clocks measure time. You won't find the concept of time addressed in the common core standards in question. This is in the same vein as something I wrote about recently, when the Florida state school board altered the common core to require that basic and practical financial concepts be taught. There's an emphasis on every-day life in the shifts Florida has made and that Indiana is now considering. Here's the new Florida standard on money that was added:

Another Indiana standard not found in common core standards is having students formulate questions that they must answer by organizing data using pictures, graphs, and objects. And a separate standard requires Indiana student to "record and organize information using objects and pictures." (CLARIFICATION: The common core does contain these two standards regarding pictures and organizing information, but in later grades and not in kindergarten.) So the authors of these draft Indiana standards have taken pains to spell out some specific examples of how the standards could actually be taught in classrooms.

Now, that's just one comparison of one area of the standards in one grade. But perhaps some of the differences and similarities identified are instructive. 

I asked Marc Porter Magee, a supporter of the common core standards and the president of 50CAN, a nationwide K-12 advocacy group, how important the gap between the Indiana standards and the common core is for the state's public schools. He said that while states can make some alterations or additions to the standards and still keep them essentially at the same level of quality, at some point, major deviations from the common core will make the new standards into a lesser product overall.

"If Indiana went back to their old standards, that would be a step backwards," he said. 

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Confusion Over a Wyo. Common-Core Bill; Push to Support Standards in Ga.

Confusion Over a Wyo. Common-Core Bill; Push to Support Standards in Ga. - State EdWatch - Education Week _hbEvent = function(param){}; function _hbSend(){} function _hbLink(p1, p2){} function _hbPageView(p1, p2){} Education WeekTeacherDigital DirectionsIndustry & InnovationTopSchoolJobsShop Annual ReportsBooksBack IssuesEdweek SpotlightsSubscriptionsSite LicensesReprintsAdvertise Recruitment AdvertisingDisplay AdvertisingWhite PapersProfessional Development DirectoryAdvanced Search March 4, 2014 Login | Register | Subscribe
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Confusion Over a Wyo. Common-Core Bill; Push to Support Standards in Ga.By Andrew Ujifusa on February 13, 2014 1:59 PM Tweet

The number of bills to scrap or pause the Common Core State Standards or the associated tests is on the rise in statehouses. But common-core opponents' interest in these bills can lead folks to jump the gun.

Here's a case in point: A bill introduced by Wyoming GOP Rep. Tom Reeder, House Bill 97, would scrap the state's ability to enter partnerships with outside organizations that lessen the state's control over public education. It would also ban the state from entering into any such partnerships that impact the state's adoption of content standards. That's an apparent reference to the fact that the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers oversaw the common core's development. The bill would require the state to drop out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which is developing common-core aligned tests. And it would create an advisory panel to oversee the development of new content standards beginning this April.

It's clearly being seen as a bill to repeal the common core. On Feb. 12, the state's House of Representatives voted 47-13 to officially consider the bill, which you can view below. 

On Feb. 13, the American Principles Project, a Washington-based advocacy group strongly opposed to the common core that works with grassroots opponents around the country, sent out an email stating the following: "Last night Wyoming pulled out of the Common Core 47 to 13. 'We congratulate the people of Wyoming on this historic vote. In rising up to make their voices heard in defense of their children, the people of Wyoming have reclaimed their constitutional heritage,' said Emmett McGroarty, Director of Education at the American Principles Project. 'They have reinvigorated the American idea of government by and for the people.'"

In fact, the bill hasn't been passed by either chamber in the Wyoming legislature. The group quickly moved to correct its mistake, noting that the bill was a "step towards" repeal of the standards and a good sign for common-core opponents. However, the American Principles Project also said that "since it is in an appropriations session, it still has a ways to go before getting through the Senate."

Despite the introduction in various states of several bills opposing the standards, there's at least one legislative proposal that would do the opposite. Georgia House Resolution 1345, introduced by Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan, a Democrat, would affirm the state's adoption of common core. The standards have attracted a lot of attention in Georgia, some of it negative, in recent months. Last year, the state dropped out of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a multistate consortium developing common-core aligned tests using federal money.

I called Morgan, a common-core supporter who is now running for state superintendent, to ask why she introduced the resolution. She said that in large part it's meant to assure educators that the state's work to implement common core won't be wasted. It's also intended as a way for lawmakers who haven't taken a clear pubilc stance on the standards to show their support. 

"Having a conversation about whether or not we should be participating in common core, I think it is late, and I think it is misplaced," she said.

Morgan said there are valid concerns about the standards, such as whether Georgia teachers have enough curricular and other resources to make sure the standards work. But she also said she's trying to fight misinformation that the standards are controlled by the federal government, or that they'll be used to improperly share students' personally identifiable data.

"There are a few people who have loud voices. I think most of their concerns are misplaced," she said.

As I wrote earlier this year, most of Morgan's fellow candidates for state superintendent don't like the common core.

In related news, on Feb. 12, the New Jersey Board of Education passed a resolution affirming its commitment to common core.

Here is Morgan's resolution:

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