oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

Look at some of the names that are heavily involved in Common Core, like Bill Gates. A lot of money has been thrown into getting this pile of pelosi started and in Kansas and most of the other states Common Core will be installed full bore this year. If you have small children, or even big ones, make sure you can understand the math they are being taught or get them the hell out and homeschool them.

http://agenda21news.com/2014/08/2008-common-core-sales-job-part-two/

Loki Loc: Georgia

Before Common Core nonsense, Before Jimmuh Cahtuh and a Democrat Congress foisted the Department of Education on an unsuspecting US citizenry, the United States was ranked in the top 5 in just about every academic discipline and endeavor. We now are 15th to 20th in the same fields. This is what happens when overpaid, underbrained Federal apparatchiks implement their "one size fits all" [poorly] method of doing things.
I have heard, read, and now believe that the average high school senior today will graduate with what would have been considered a mediocre 7th to 8th grade education in the early seventies, when I graduated. I am appalled at the 50% and 60% graduation rates of many high schools today, especially when a disturbing number of the half to sixty percent who do graduate are functional illiterates. Contrast that with the "good ol' days," before the DOE, before Common Core, before No Child Left Behind, when the graduation rate at my school was around 95%, about half of whom went on to college afterwards, without having to take remedial English.

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

You just reminded me of something that tore at me in the early 70s. I had been teaching history and government since 1958 and suddenly found that I had to stop using essay type questions on tests for juniors and seniors. Less than half of my students could answer that kind of questions with anything resembling intelligence. They couldn't write and they couldn't do so many other things that needed thinking. All of a sudden we hear the Common Core people talking about making students think in all their classes and we are long away from such a place.

I didn't stop using essay type questions, altogether, but used them for extra credit for the better students. Many people were making 100+ instead of in the 90s and they were very happy while some of those who couldn't write felt c***ted because the good ones got the help they needed but couldn't give themselves.

Do you know my story about Jimmuh Cartuh and the NEA. The union gave him $4.5 million to campaign with and in return he promised to give them a Department of Education. That very same year his FEC punished Americans Against Union Control of Government for giving a Republican candidate about $250,000. The punishment was payment of the quarter million plus a fine of a quarter million. Now these aren't very large numbers these days but back in the 70s they were huge numbers. The FEC completely destroyed the AAUCG with that action and failed to say anything about Carter's illegal money. Of course, all this took place after he was inaugurated and the FEC people were his people.

Since Common Core starts to operate in schools this fall we can expect that our students will be much worse from now on.