Common Sense about Common Core: Overcoming Education's Politics

Common Sense about Common Core breaks down everything you need to know about the Common Core, from how it was implemented to where we are now. Common Core has emerged as a significant political issue and, therefore, a concern with the general public. Special interest groups are spinning messages which are inaccurate or biased in order to confuse parents and the public. Therefore a transformative educational initiative developed on sound principles is jeopardized because special interest groups, including politicians seeking to garner support from these groups, are taking positions based on inaccurate information. This book will show that Common Core is a necessary initiative for achieving America’s Race to the Top.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction 1.Americans Are Uninformed About Common Core 2.The Myth of Federal Government Over-reach 3.Standards Versus Curriculum 4.The Political Game 5.Trust Or Accountability 6.Fairness? Finally! 7.Teacher Gender and Fairness to Boys 8.Common Assessment: An Investment 9.Paying Teachers for What Matters 10.How Common Sense About Continuous Pass 11.Common Sense is Prevailing Conclusion

About the Author :
Jim Dueck has a career in education spanning 40 years of service as a teacher, principal, superintendent and assistant deputy minister. He has also advised representatives from almost 50 education systems around the world who sought suggestions regarding assessment and accountability in education, including the US government’s launch of the Race to the Top initiative.

Review :
Overwhelmingly, the media portrays an American public that has rejected Common Core on the premise that it revokes states’ autonomy in policy making and on the harmful effects of high-stakes assessment on students, teachers, and schools. Common Sense about the Common Core offers readers the less-often shared perspective: that Common Core Standards and accompanying accountability measures are what are most needed in education reform. In contrast to its title, however, this book does not attempt to overcome education’s politics so much as seek to replace them with a different set of ideologies. These are defined by critical mistrust of those charged with educating the nation’s youth: teachers, teachers' unions, teacher preparation programs, school administrators, politicians, and even parents, whom the author has deemed misinformed about Common Core. The argument is clearly written, complete with a bulleted summary of main points at the end of each chapter and italicized key ideas throughout. . . .Summing Up: Recommended. Researchers, faculty, general readers. Jim Dueck builds a compelling case in support of common, rigorous standards and assessments in the U.S. — based on his decades of experience as a nationally recognized educator in Canada, on international benchmarks, and on the moral imperative we have to ensure equity and quality for every child in our schools. Jim Dueck recognizes the political overtones surrounding Common Core and why this initiative is essential for reforming America's education system.  Those that really want to understand Common Core, No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top will find this helpful. This book provides an insightful commentary on a critical issue defining our times. In a refreshingly bold, straightforward analysis, Dueck takes on uninformed public opinion and vested interests in a call for a radical rethinking of “the most transformational initiative” available to educational reformers today. It’s an argument in favor of common core and its two correlates – common assessment and accountability. His conclusions are based on a “common sense” understanding of a rich and diverse data set, which includes illuminating anecdotes drawn from Dueck’s wide-ranging experience as an educational practitioner and trailblazer. His orienting theme is fairness – first and foremost for students, but also for the general public. As a result, it is an important book for practitioners and policy makers looking for clarity in a politically charged atmosphere and for parents and a badgered public tired of vacuous promises and strident, self-serving argumentation. This book is a must for those who care about the future of our country and the role education plays in shaping it: it will stimulate, provoke, and motivate to action. This short book makes a very simple point:  Just declaring what students should know does not mean that they will know it.  Nor does it mean that they will keep any short term learning and be able to apply it in the future.  The battles over the Common Core standards are persuasively put into the context of true deeper learning – and an alternative vision, along with notes on “how to”, is provided.  It shows how re-energized teachers, students, and parents are the solution. Jim Dueck gives us a friendly, but cold, dose of reality from his perch north of the border.  A leading educator, policy architect, and international advisor, Jim has seen what has moved systems of public schools all over the world, particularly in his native Canada.  He observes that despite all the political noise around Common Core Standards, the basic idea of creating “high, consistent standards of student learning” is one of the most consistent through lines of the world’s highest performing countries.  His unique combination of distance and deep understanding of American education reform enables him to force the reader to wrestle with the fundamental questions around who and how we ensure all of our children get the education they need and deserve in this rapidly changing global society.