BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—On Tuesday, State Senator Larry Grooms (R-District 37) met with S.C. Secretary of Education Dr. Mick Zais to discuss the development of new educational standards that will replace Common Core in the Palmetto State.
“In order to have new standards implemented by August 2015, there can be no time wasted in their development,” the Berkeley County lawmaker stated on his official Facebook page.
A great deal of controversy and opposition has been linked to Common Core which sets reading and math standards for elementary, middle and high school students. Some critics argue that millions of dollars have been wasted on “an experiment” that has yet to be proven successful. Others claim that the standards amount to a federal takeover of public schools.
Grooms attended Tuesday’s meeting with two strong opponents of Common Core: Jane Robbins with the American Project and Dr. Sandra Stotsky, one of the nation’s foremost experts on educational standards and a former member of the Common Core evaluation team.
“We had an excellent work meeting and are all on the same page in terms of replacing Common Core with challenging and rigorous standards that will meet the educational needs of South Carolina,” said Grooms. “We were pleased with the determination of Dr. Zais and his staff in moving South Carolina out of Common Core.”
Governor Nikki Haley along with Oklahoma’s governor are both looking to do away with the standards and replace them with locally written versions. So far, Indiana has been the only state to pass a law repealing Common Core.
“Unlike Indiana, our new standards will not be a re-branded version of Common Core. They will be high level quality standards that will distinguish South Carolina as having some of the best standards in the nation,” stated Grooms. “Our history standards are now recognized as among the best in the nation and soon our ELA and Mathematics will also receive that same recognition.”
Grooms added that development teams have been scheduled to put together a draft of the new standards before the end of October. Evaluation teams will then spend the next several months making comments and recommendations regarding the new standards.
Grooms added that applications are still being accepted for individuals willing to serve on the evaluation teams. The deadline to apply is July 18th.
“Unlike the development of Common Core, this process will be open and transparent and the new standards will be vetted and reviewed before their adoption,” stated Grooms. South Carolina had good ELA and Mathematics standards prior to Common Core and states like Texas and Minnesota have excellent standards that will help serve as guides in developing our new, high level, rigorous, competitive, college and career ready standards.”
South Carolina became the 48th state to join the Common Core standards project in 2009 after Gov. Mark Sanford and Superintendent Jim Rex co-signed the project application. In July 2010, the State Board of Education voted to adopt Common Core math and reading standards.
Supporters of Common Core argue that it does not allow the federal government to prescribe what children learn. Instead, they say it raises educational standards for them in a way that is state-led, rather than being a Washington solution.
To view the SC Department of Education’s website regarding the new standards development, click here.
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