CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The two leading lawmakers in West Virginia took steps Tuesday aimed at repealing the state Common Core standards.
Senate President Bill Cole and House Speaker Tim Armstead sent a letter to the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers revoking a 2009 agreement between the state and the NGA regarding development of Common Core.
“This letter represents a symbol of the commitment that we have in the Legislature to repeal these Common Core standards and to eliminate the Smarter Balanced testing for our students once and for all,” Cole said. “We must find a way to improve our student achievement and fix our education system, and the way to begin that progress is to eliminate Common Core in West Virginia.”
MORE: Read the joint letter
The agreement Cole and Armstead revoked was signed six years ago by then-Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, and then-Speaker of the House Rick Thompson and then-Gov. Joe Manchin—all Democrats. Former West Virginia State Superintendent Steven Paine also signed the agreement.
The Common Core standards for English and mathematics, approved by the state board of education in May 2010, labeled West Virginia Next Generation Content Standards.
The state began administering Smarter Balanced standardized testing this past spring.
State Superindent Dr. Michael Martirano recently unveiled a website called West Virginia Spotlight for parents, teachers and community members to provide feedback on the current standards.
The current standards are in a public comment period from the spotlight website until the end of 2015.