RIDER COMMENT: California statewide public school education standards are mediocre at best. But compared to the federal standards, California is rather demanding.
Well, WAS rather demanding. To get federal funding, CA is dropping its state standards -- lowering benchmarks to meet federal demands.
The dumbing down of our state's future voters continues apace. But not to worry -- our state's colleges and universities increasingly are becoming overpriced remedial institutions -- teaching in college what used to be required in junior high (a.k.a. "middle school").
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PACIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Flashreport | May 11, 2012
The Obama administration required states to adopt the national "Common Core" standards as a condition for competing for federal "Race to the Top" grants and for receiving waivers from penalties for failing to comply with the student-achievement requirements of the No Child Left Behind law.
According to Mr. Izumi, "California joined the rush for federal dollars and is now saddled with national standards that a University of Pennsylvania study says are mediocre at best. The fallout from California's Faustian bargain is now becoming clear."
First, traditional courses will be eliminated. The California Teachers Association (CTA) is telling its union members that new courses with vague labels like Integrated Math I, II and III will replace algebra and geometry. Further, as Washington Post education writer Jay Matthews has noted, "There will be many changes in other subjects that schools will have to adjust to."
The national standards will need new curricula aligned with those standards. Although the Obama administration argues that it is not pushing a national curriculum, a report authored by former top lawyers at the U.S. Department of Education points out the logical absurdity of the administration's claim.
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