Common Core Dilemma--Who Owns Our Schools?
Common Core Dilemma--Who Owns Our Schools?
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Overview
In her new book, bestselling author Mercedes Schneider provides little-known details about the history of the Common Core State Standards. She lifts the veil on how the Common Core was developed, who was present in the back room, the push to copyright it so that test-makers could profit, and the urgency for governors to sign commitments before the standards were even completed. CCSS is publicized as being a state-led, teacher-developed approach guaranteed to ensure that all students are college- and career-ready. By the end of this eye-opening book, readers will come to understand the CCSS and its attendant assessments as something very different—an education-restricting, profit-garnering opportunity packaged as an education-sounding sales pitch. Common Core Dilemma will appeal to readers across the political spectrum who want to better understand the role of corporations, nonprofits, big donors with strings attached, and the federal government in exercising control in our schools.
“Mercedes Schneider is the right person to take a close look at the controversies around the Common Core. She is not only a high school teacher, but also holds a Ph.D. in research methods and statistics. No one digs deeper than she to understand the politics, money, and personalities behind big issues.”
—Diane Ravitch, professor of education at New York University, historian of education and bestselling author, author of Reign of Error
“The Common Core 'state' standards swept the nation in an educational coup d’etat six years ago. The campaign was so swift that most Americans—indeed most educators—had never even heard of the standards when they were adopted. Mercedes Schneider has become the nation's leading detective investigating this 'whodunnit' mystery, and here she tells the tale, from the beginning.”
—Anthony Cody, educator, writer, and public speaker
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780807773765 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Teachers College Press |
| Publication date: | 05/29/2015 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Sales rank: | 737,208 |
| File size: | 460 KB |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Foreword Carol Corbett Burris xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: The Quandary of Who Owns America's Schools 1
1 Gradually Leaving Education Behind: No Child Left Behind and Its Predecessors 6
ESEA in 1965: Coleman Report in 1966 7
ESEA in 1994: The Improving America's Schools Act 9
Goals 2000 10
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 14
2 Achieve and Its "Common Core of Standards" Master Plan-Part One 20
Achieve, Who's Your Daddy? Why, IBM CEO Louis Gerstner, Jr. 22
Achieve: Forget "Clearinghouse"; Let's Evaluate 24
3 Achieve and Its "Common Core of Standards" Master Plan-Part Two 32
1999: The Year of Achieve-Promoted, National Accountability 32
2001: NAEP Looks Nice, So We Done Good 35
American Diploma Project 35
2008: ADP Expands into CCSS 41
4 Playing in the Achieve Sandbox: Education Trust and Fordham Institute 46
Kati Haycock and Her Education Trust 46
Fordham Foundation/Institute 56
5 The "State-Led" Lock-In: The Common Core Memorandum of Understanding 68
MOU Title and Purpose 72
MOU Background 73
MOU Benefits to the States 74
MOU Process and Structure 76
6 The Invisible Architects and Visible PR Machine: Student Achievement Partners 95
Jason Zimba (and Coleman Intertwined) 98
David Coleman, CCSS "Architect" 103
Susan Pimentel 108
7 America, "Stay the Course" (Don't Remove That Noose): The Common Core Surveys 114
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)/Hart CCSS Survey 116
National Education Association (NEA) CCSS Survey 117
Stand for Children (SFC) Louisiana CCSS Survey 118
Gates/Scholastic CCSS Survey "Early Release" 121
National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) CCSS Survey(s) 124
CCSS: Signed, Sealed, and Delivered 126
8 NGA and CCSSO: Leal Owners of Common Core 128
Defining Key Terms 131
NCTM and NCTE 132
CCSS Public License 133
NGA and CCSSO: Serving Themselves and Profit-Driven Companies 138
9 Bill Gates Likes the Idea 140
10 Arne Wants In: Common Core and Race to the Top 160
11 Those "Powerful Market Forces": Pearson Wins 175
A Century and a Half of Pearson 176
The Pearson-Common Core Engagement 178
Pearson: "We're Big, So Quality Becomes Irrelevant" 179
Pearson and Common Core: Indispensability Is the Key 183
Pearson: Tailor-Made for Those Powerful Market Forces 189
Conclusion: So What Have We Learned Here? 190
Glossary of Key Individuals, Organizations, and Terms 195
Notes 201
Index 233
About the Author 247
What People are Saying About This
“Schneider makes the case that it is time to 'turn the page' on this ill-begotten educational experiment. And as readers turn the pages of this fascinating and meticulously prepared account, they will be compelled to agree.”—From the Foreword by Carol Corbett Burris, South Side High School, Rockville Centre, New York
“Mercedes Schneider is the right person to take a close look at the controversies around the Common Core. She is not only a high school teacher, but also holds a Ph.D. in research methods and statistics. No one digs deeper than she to understand the politics, money, and personalities behind big issues.”—Diane Ravitch, professor of education at New York University, historian of education and bestselling author, author of Reign of Error
“The Common Core ‘State’ Standards swept the nation in an educational coup d'etat 6 years ago. The campaign was so swift that most Americans—indeed most educators—had never even heard of the standards when they were adopted. Mercedes Schneider has become the nation's leading detective investigating this ‘whodunnit’ mystery, and here she tells the tale, from the beginning.”—Anthony Cody, educator, writer, and public speaker