Common Core debate could plant seeds for reform

The State
by Dr. Oran Smith

Columbia, SC — Only two years ago, a lopsided majority of Americans had never heard of Common Core State Standards, and those who had either thought they were straight from Beelzebub or the greatest thing since Jadeveon Clowney.

If a recent legislative hearing on the matter is any indication, that polarization still exists, and the warring camps are getting larger and louder.

One moment in that two-hour hearing was especially memorable. As a Common Core supporter was explaining how South Carolina came to be involved with the standards, she described the signing of a contract related to their implementation. The presenter paused when asked the date of the contract, and as if on cue, at least 10 opponents shouted “June 9, 2010.”

Here was a group of citizens who had done their homework — an impressive display of democracy, no matter what one thinks of Common Core.

Can we build on that?

After the hearing, I concluded that John Hill of the Alabama Policy Institute had it right when he wrote: “Although both sides of the Common Core debate make arguments worth consideration, both the potential benefits and pitfalls related to Common Core have been the subject of exaggeration and error.”

This is why Palmetto Policy Forum recently released a paper we believe cuts through the Common Core fog, outlining an eight-point plan to return unquestioned control of education standards to S.C. parents.

This heated debate begs the question: Are education standards the reason so many of our students are falling behind academically and graduating from high school unprepared for college, technical college or the workforce? The answer to that question is a resounding no. While Common Core presents a host of problems, the bold reforms to reverse our lagging education outcomes lie elsewhere.

Among these reforms are a laser-like focus on early reading and an end to social promotion for those falling further and further behind; more choices for parents that let taxpayer funds follow the child to any school public or private; full funding for good public charter schools; education governance that is democratically accountable to those it serves; teacher evaluations that treat teachers like professionals and reward excellence in the classroom; and alternative paths to certification that cut through red tape to get real-world experience off of the sidelines and into our classrooms.

In the struggle between most urgent and most important, fixing Common Core could very well be more urgent. But accountability to parents and the wide-ranging reforms our students need are more important.

What we need is to turn the passion stirred over Common Core into something much more significant.

Common Core has serious problems, and it is imperative that we address them. But there is no reason to re-enact the brinksmanship of “Dr. Strangelove.”

Let’s address Common Core and move on, focusing our energy on the fundamental challenges facing education in South Carolina. This is not a time for mutual destruction. The future of our children hangs in the balance.

Dr. Smith is senior fellow at Palmetto Policy Forum.

Guest Opinion: School Choice Unites & Empowers

By Ellen Weaver

The Greenville News
February 2, 2014

Liberal Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and conservative Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton. What agenda could possibly unite these political odd couples?

Support for the rapidly expanding world of education options.

Each of these leaders is part of a bipartisan groundswell of advocates for evidence-based school choice programs, both public and private. Far more than “vouchers,” school choice in its truest form includes as many options as the needs of children are unique: high-quality traditional schools; public charters, magnet or virtual schools; open enrollment between traditional school districts; private school scholarship and tax credit programs; Education Savings Accounts; home schooling and more.

Based on a monopolistic model of learning designed for a heavily agrarian economy, the structure of our current public education system has remained largely unchanged since the 19th century. While this system still works for some, it is failing to equip far too many of our children with the basic skills they need in the fast-paced economy of the future.

The facts are unforgiving: America leads the world in education spending yet lags in academic achievement, falling behind more than a dozen other industrialized countries in math and literacy.

Our research shows that right here in South Carolina, fewer than half of our low-income students can read at “Basic or Better” levels by the end of 3rd grade, the pivotal point when they transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Over the last decade, our students with special needs have lost more ground in reading and math than students from any other state in the country. We are currently leaving far too many of our children behind and robbing them of opportunity to succeed in school and ultimately life.

The good news: the power to change all this is in our hands. Around the country, innovating states and bold policy leaders are showing the way as they empower more and more parents with customized choices for their child’s education. These choices take many forms, including strong, accountable public charter and online schools and private tax credit scholarships for students with special needs or who come from families which otherwise could not afford to access high-quality options. Or newer ideas like Education Savings Accounts that create maximum flexibility for parents to buy textbooks, hire a tutor, enroll their children in online classes, pay private school tuition, or even save for future college expenses.

What are the results where these options are being tried? Study after study has shown that expanded education choice has increased high school graduation and college attendance, boosted scores in critical core subjects like reading and math, and led to parents who are satisfied that their children are enjoying high-quality education in a safe environment.

Over the last decade, Florida became one of the lead policy innovators, enacting robust school choice programs, which have contributed to students most in need of a helping hand making the greatest strides in achievement. In fact, Florida’s low-income students now outscore the entire student population of South Carolina on 4th grade reading. And the Sunshine State’s minority students — once lagging well behind their peers in the Palmetto State — have leapfrogged ahead. All this while spending less money per student than we do in South Carolina.

But the best news: a rising tide lifts all boats. Students in traditional public schools are thriving as never before, debunking the myth that more school choices damage public education. The inescapable truth is that where education choice grows, education and student achievement flourish everywhere.

To quote former Gov. Jeb Bush who led Florida’s education transformation, it’s time for us to “fundamentally rethink how we define public education, paying for results wherever they occur rather than paying a single provider regardless of results.”

Despite our challenges, this is an exciting time for education in South Carolina. New conversations are happening between businesses, education leaders and local communities about how to create the education system of the future. And right here in the Palmetto State, parents have more options now than they have ever had, including a brand new tax credit scholarship program for our students with special needs.

But our work is far from done. School choice is changing lives across the country and provides a clear road map forward to address the education needs of South Carolina students.

We have just celebrated National School Choice Week. I hope you’ll join this growing, bipartisan movement of students, parents, educators and community leaders. Working together, we can empower parents with new choices and inspire students with the hope that their ZIP code does not determine their destiny.

Ellen Weaver is President & CEO of Palmetto Policy Forum. For more information go to www.palmettopolicy.org.