Getting to the Core of education

Shortly after the Common Core State Standards went into effect at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year, a ground swelling of criticism came from parents and teachers who were opposed to more testing for students and more pressure on educators, among other issues.

As more people became vocal on the issue, local politicians also began speaking out against the Common Core’s implementation, including Assemblyman Brian Curran (R-Lynbrook), whose district covers most of Baldwin.

Over the winter, Curran voiced his support for the Achieving Pupil Preparedness & Launching Excellence (APPLE) plan, which was put into bill form but never made it out of the education committee. Assembly Republicans backed the plan, but are in the minority.

The APPLE plan calls for a two-year moratorium on the current Common Core curriculum and for a panel of teachers to create a new curriculum that also adheres to the Common Core in its place.

“The most important thing is to have a timeout from the implementation of Common Core,” Curran said. “Whether or not you agree with Common Core, the implementation in the state was rushed and it was done without any real thought and consideration of how to do it.

“The APPLE plan calls for a little time to go back to the drawing board,” he added.

Since its implementation, there have been changes made to the state’s Common Core, including a policy to shield teachers and administrators from consequences of low-scoring math and English Language Arts exams that students in grades three through eight take.

“What they have done in Albany is they have taken incremental steps to do minor corrections to the effects of Common Core,” Curran said, “which I don’t believe actually makes the significant corrections that’ll make it work for our kids.”

Curran said the Assembly Republicans will bring up the APPLE plan again in January, but, he added, “I’m scared that the majority in the Assembly believes that what they’ve done now has satisfied the problem.”