On New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s official website, he touts the merits and needs of Common Core, an educational program detailing what students should know in regards to math and English by the end of the 12th grade:
“The Common Core standards are a critical part of transforming New York’s schools, and the failure to effectively implement them has led to confusion and frustration among students and their families.”
Despite his initial optimism surrounding Common Core, however, New York test scores have remained remarkably flat after its implementation:
The second year of state standardized testing on the rigorous Common Core learning standards showed that students made modest gains in math but remained practically flat in English.
Despite another full year of Common Core preparation by schools after the initial rollout of state tests in 2013, there were no dramatic, across-the-board gains in English this year. Urban and other high-poverty districts saw more year-to-year improvement, but wealthier suburban districts classified as having average or low needs actually saw overall declines.
With unusual teaching strategies such as telling students to draw out math problems, Common Core has been deemed controversial for not preparing students for college.
Perhaps this is why New Yorkers are flat out rejecting the program. GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino and the state GOP ticket submitted a Stop Common Core ballot line petition to further challenge Cuomo in November. In case you’re wondering how passionate people are about ending the program, 62,000 people have signed their names to the petition. Here’s some pictorial proof.
The unpopularity of Common Core in the Empire State is also apparent in recent polling:
When it comes to matters of education policy, according to the poll results, a majority of voters want to see implementation of the Common Core standards stopped rather than continued.
Voters supporting Cuomo want the standards implemented by a 49-38 percent margin, however, Astorino voters are strongly opposed to Common Core being implemented by a 73-17 percent margin," Greenberg said.
Thankfully, parents aren’t just signing documents and participating in surveys - they’re taking their children out of this "educational" program. As a result of Common Core failures in other states, homeschooling is becoming a much more attractive option.