Repairing the Common Core

The New York State Assembly Minority Conference released a report last week outlining changes it felt should be made to the state’s approach in implementing the controversial Common Core learning standards.

The 14-page report outlines changes that grew out of discussions the Minority Conference — Assembly Republicans —held after meetings on the Common Core that were held all over the state. Called the Achieving Pupil Preparedness and Learning Excellence plan, or APPLE, the recommended changes were wide-ranging: slowing down the implementation of Common Core, providing more funding to schools for curriculum development, more professional development for teachers, more help for children with special needs, and many more.

“Families … across New York state are angry, scared and frustrated by the quality of education their children are receiving as teachers and administrators struggle to meet the demands of the Common Core State Standards,” said Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb, a Republican from Canandaigua. “As a former educator, I know their concerns are valid. Minority members of the Assembly Education Committee have listened to families and teachers from across New York in order to develop this comprehensive look at critically needed reforms to our state’s education system.”

The report by the Assembly Minority came a few weeks after the state’s education commissioner, Dr. John King Jr., took part in similar forums across the state, in which many parents and educators said their complaints about Common Core seemed to fall on deaf ears.

The Assembly report focuses on six areas that came into focus during its meetings: curriculum, data collection, teacher support, funding, student anxiety and special education.