CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A representative of the group West Virginians Against Common Core criticized Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin Tuesday at the state capitol for not speaking publicly for or against the controversial education standards.
“Governor Tomblin, today, I am calling you out,” WVACC’s Angie Summers said during a legislative interim committee meeting. “You have ignored our concerns and put the West Virginia childrens’ education in crisis.”
Common Core State Standards is not a curriculum but a set of standards that establish the knowledge and skills kids need to meet each year in order to advance to the next grade level. The standards have been adopted by most states, the adoption is tied, in some cases, to federal grant money. West Virginia calls its Common Core Standards, Next Generation.
Summers told lawmakers West Virginia doesn’t need the standards or anything that looks like them.
“The standards, the assessments and the data collection are all intertwined within the grants and agreements. We must fix it all to get rid of the problem,” Summers said.
But there were a number of other speakers who told lawmakers West Virginia needs a set of standards like Common Core to guarantee a prepared workforce. National PTA President Otha Thornton said lawmakers and others have a moral obligation.
“We owe our children an education that promises each child when they receive a diploma that it actually means something,” Thornton said. “It means they are ready for college and they will not need to spend money for remedial classes that will not count toward a degree.”
Criticisms of Common Core include concerns of the federal government taking more control of local school systems and abandoning the reading of literature or the teaching of basic skills in favor of the standards.
Summers said Gov. Tomblin needs to begin speaking up.
“There will be bills that are anti-Common Core that will be coming out of this legislature and it is time for you, Governor Tomblin, to acknowledge the problem and help us get this fixed,” Summers said.
Tomblin administration Communications Director Chris Stadelman issued the following statement Tuesday following the discussion on the issue at the state capitol:
“Across the state, we all have a common goal–improving education for all of West Virginia’s students. Improved educational opportunities are essential to ensuring our state’s continued growth and economic success, and in today’s global economy, our students must have the skills to compete with students in states across the country and around the world. Content standards are critical in our efforts to improve education because they offer a way to measure our students’ achievement with their peers. The West Virginia Department of Education’s Next Generation Standards are part of a collective effort by teachers across the state, representing all grade levels, and other state education experts with one goal in mind – putting West Virginia’s students first. We must continue to invest in our future by providing our children with the best education possible.”
Common Core actually began with a small group of governors who wanted to align their states’ education standards and assessments.