Fight The Common Core

The Heartland Institute has been at the forefront of pushing back on Common Core education standards—a Washington-led scheme to take away the long-held control of curriculum from states, school boards, teachers, and parents. Our effort is led by Joy Pullmann, research fellow for education policy and managing editor of School Reform News.

Common Core State Standards for K-12 schools were adopted with little public debate by every state but Alaska, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia in 2010, part of the price of getting federal dollars under the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” program. Now educators, parents, and policymakers are taking a closer look at what they agreed to, and many don’t like what they see.

In this Heartland Institute Policy Brief (PDF), Pullmann reveals some major weaknesses of Common Core. The program represents a major centralization of control over curriculum, contrary to the American tradition of decentralized control and funding. Instead of being “world class,” the standards represent a significant step back from what experts say are the standards America really needs.

No wonder many states are now holding hearings on whether to back out of the Common Core project. Click here for Pullmann's latest report on Common Core in a standard 8-1/2 x 11 Policy Brief format, or click here for an alternative format for printing as a booklet (print on 8-1/2 x 11 paper, double-sided, folded) to share with friends. (Note: If you are printing double-sided, please be sure to instruct your printer to have it open on the SHORT side, not the long side.)


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