This is a review of the past week of news on Common Core nationwide and in North Carolina.

Articles are organized by category.

Prior Edition of Weekend Reads: 1-4-15

NC UPDATES:
The next ASRC meeting date has changed from January 19th to the 16th due to Martin Luther King Day.  December’s meeting materials have been posted to the ASRC site.

• NC Public Schools Forum Hosting ‘Key Education Issues’ Breakfast
• Jeb Bush’s “Florida formula” of education privatization in North Carolina
  
  Related Reads:
• Jeb Bush education foundation played leading role in mixing politics, policy
• Ten Common Core Promoters Laughing All The Way To The Bank
  

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

“I’m fine with moving (to the SAT) because it is more aligned with the Common Core standards,” Felske said. “If that better prepares students and supports the work our teachers are doing and shows it with results on the test, I’m all for it.”

Michigan Department of Education officials said the SAT will be redesigned and will be “aligned to Michigan content standards.”
-Mlive,  Superintendents: Switch from ACT to SAT creates concern about college admissions policies

“Conservative activists also are targeting Common Core, the national education standards adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia over the past few years. Opposition from parent and community groups has become a hot political issue on the right over the past year, leading three states — Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina — to drop out of the program.”
– Washington Post, Republicans in State Government Plan Juggernaut of Conservative Legislation​

“State Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, said he expects an extensive debate on the standards in the upcoming session.

“It is an absolute disaster,” he said. (Teachers) “should not be expected to work under fear of termination when that decision to terminate is going to be based on such weak evidence. They need to completely abandon everything to do with Common Core. We need to set up standards that have been proven and tried. A lot of teachers are retiring and are fed up with this mess.”
-Daily Commercial, ​Florida Standards worry locals

“As organizations representing the base voting bloc of Indiana’s Republican supermajority, we thought it important to set the record straight.  We cannot support a voucher expansion, unless the legislature and Governor are willing to cut the Common Core strings that bind it.  Indiana’s voucher program was recently rated as being the second worst in the country when it comes to protecting private school autonomy.  Expanding this program, without addressing this fact, is unacceptable and further erodes the very concept of school choice,” Crossin stated.
–Truth In American Education, Conservative Groups Oppose Mike Pence’s Education Reform Agenda​

“No matter what happens to this bill, it’s going to be a huge story,” Flaugh said. “The only reason we’re having this debate is because people who are implementing (Common Core) are realizing how horrible it is, and those who lead the grass-roots groups demand they stop it.”
-WTSP, Florida group drafts anti-Common Core bill

APUSH:

• That Koch Smear Campaign Worked!

LEGISLATIVE/LEGAL:

• Duncan Calls For NCLB Repeal – Related: A Bay State Smackdown
• Indiana Bill could bring down Common Core in the state (HB1099)
• There is no choice when it comes with strings
• Upcoming Common Core Bill In North Dakota
• Glastonbury Superintendent Proposes 3.78% Spending Increase
• Gov. Brown’s California budget calls for record $113 billion in spending; $65.7B for K-12, Community Colleges
• Florida group drafts anti-Common Core bill

POLITICAL/PROTESTS:

• Jeb Bush education foundation played leading role in mixing politics, policy
• Jeb’s the Chamber’s Water Boy
• Rand Paul Slams Obama ‘crap’ spending,  Jeb Bush on Common Core
• Karl Rove: Common Core is Jeb Bush’s Biggest Hurdle (Related: Shot, Chaser)
• Huck’s Core Problem
• Mississippi Common Core: Opponents protest ‘fed ed’ as lawmakers convene
• Common Core opponents make statement at Capitol
• Walker Admin Takes Aim At Common Core
• ​Gohmert Co-Sponsored Anti-Common Core Resolution​
• The 2016 PR Campaigns To Rehab Common Core Begin

HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLES:

• Obama to propose two free years of community college for students

“Free”? Oh really?
REMINDER: 

RELATED HIGHLIGHTED READS:

• Obama’s Free Community College Proposal Is Ridiculous
• Why Free Community College Is Anything But Free

THE WEEKEND READS:

• Common Core standards get mixed reviews locally in Arizona
• Common Core Boosters Trying to Scare States into Keeping National Standards
• Don’t fall for Common Core scare tactics
• New York school beats the odds by “going rogue” on Common Core
• The Fundamental Right To Homeschool
• Education Trust: Profoundly Gates-funded, Test-driven-reform Machine
• Missouri State Representative Asks: “What is Your Worst Case Scenario for Data Gathering”? Look at the Bubbles.
• More Evidence for Aligned CCSS Higher Education
• National Career Pathways Network
• Expert: Most US College Freshman Read At A 7th Grade Level
• Quantitative Approach to Reading
• ​How the Dumbing Down of America Is Happening One Common Core Standard At a Time
• ICAPs, Common Core and More!
• Connecticut’s Stake in CCSS?!
• Common Core pushes Lehigh Valley districts toward full-day kindergarten

TESTING UPDATES:

• Pearson Is Everywhere: 2014 GED Results Show 90% Drop In Passage Rate
• Brookings fails to make case for annual testing
• Colorado State Board votes 4-3 to give districts waiver option on PARCC testing
• Superintendents: Switch from ACT to SAT creates concern about college admissions policies
• Arkansas Schools May See Boycott Of Tests Aligned With Common Core

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

• Sarah Blaine – Comments to the NJ Board of Education
  “The PARCC evaluates future employees; it does not educate citizens.”
  Read the full text of her comments.
  Related Story at Washington Post.

TWEETS OF THE WEEK:

@LadyLiberty1885 homeschool parent here. 2 of the 3 grads have gone to college. 1 graduated w/4.0, one currently has 3.75. Regulate that!

— Darin Bauguss (@darin_bauguss) January 9, 2015

NOTHING IS FREE. Is Obama’s free community college program unrealistic?: http://t.co/kn88brilAU

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) January 10, 2015

@LadyLiberty1885 Dissent from Obama Plan to Make Community College Free http://t.co/hT5xUFuHmJ via @DianeRavitch

— Lindamarie (@Linda1746) January 10, 2015

What Data is Collected From Kindergarteners Without Parental Consent?: http://t.co/C7m7cX4J0P via @212christel #nhpolitics

— Ed Activist NH (@EDactivistNH) January 10, 2015

@LadyLiberty1885 why/how free com. college aligned 2 ccss: https://t.co/ghuPH1kxOi and https://t.co/rErRTz6DyL

— Lynne Taylor (@Commoncorediva) January 9, 2015

SBE members have approved criteria for the Global-Ready School designation. See the criteria at https://t.co/4GRN3FymNT #NCSBEJan2015

— NC Public Schools (@ncpublicschools) January 8, 2015

The State Op-ed starts w/ false premise, launches into ad hominem attacks to defend Common Core http://t.co/F739lCFsKj #stopcommoncore

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) January 6, 2015