Michigan Common Core Standards Under Debate

Reported by Jessica Schrader and John McKay 

New education benchmarks currently being implemented in Michigan schools are under debate as the state legislature takes steps this week to block funding that would fully implement the standards.

The Common Core Standards, which the State Board of Education unanimously adopted in June 2010, is a set of rigorous, college and career-ready curriculum standards for students that 46 states across the nation have also adopted to bring consistency in education.But some believe the benchmarks could lead to a federal takeover of Michigan's educational system by taking power away from the legislature and local school districts, according to an article in the Detroit Free Press.

On Tuesday, the state House of Representatives approved a measure as part of the overall budget that prohibits the Michigan Department of Education from spending funds on implementing the Common Core standards for math or English, MLive.com reports.

The legislation is backed by Rep. Tom McMillin, a Republican from Rochester Hills. He told Patch on Wednesday that he would like to “take a pause, at least” to evaluate the Common Core Standards mandate.

McMillin said he is opposed to the idea of Common Core Standards, but is more concerned about the mandate.

“I think it’s a big mistake to let the National Governor’s Association in Washington decide what’s going to be taught in our schools,” he said.

Still, he said, schools that have taken steps to implement the standards should be free to adopt them if they feel it fits the curriculum—without the mandate. 

But Martin Ackley, director of Office of Public and Governmental Affairs at the Michigan Department of Education, said in response to McMillin's comments that it is not just a "pause."

"There is nothing in the language above that indicates that this is a “pause,” as Rep. McMillin would like people to believe. This is an outright prohibition (“shall not”), with no guarantee that the prohibition will be lifted," he said in a statement released Wednesday. 

"Local school districts have been working for three years, and spent hundreds of hours in planning and implementing the high-quality Common Core State Standards for their students to be career- and college-ready. This provision in the bill will leave school boards, administrators, teachers, and parents with no clear direction on how they continue planning their locally-developed curricula to meet the state standards," he wrote.

Royal Oak reaction

Royal Oak teachers and instructional leaders have been and are working collaboratively with educators from across the state and county on Common Core unit and lesson development, according to Royal Oak Superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin.  

"The Common Core Standards are grounded in evidence, and focused on ensuring that students obtain a depth of knowledge and understanding that has not been a part of previous learning standards," Lewis-Lakin said. "The impact of the standards on student learning and instruction in Michigan and Royal Oak is positive."

Rep. Jim Townsend (D-Royal Oak) believes the idea of common core standards for public schools is worthwhile.

"Parents, kids, educators and other stakeholders should know whether our schools are meeting national and global benchmarks for academic rigor and quality of curriculum," Townsend said. "These standards can enable us to track how we're doing."

Townsend acknowledges there is a legitimate debate going on about how the Common Core was created and what will be done with test data gathered under the auspices of the Common Core. 

"I'm not persuaded, however, that the far right legislators and the Tea Party, who pushed this language, are interested in addressing concerns with the Common Core, because their larger agenda is to dismantle public education in Michigan and turn it over to private corporations," Townsend said. "This skirmish over the Common Core is a sideshow compared to that much more alarming agenda."

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