[CS-FSLUG] OT: Saying Common Core Not Federal a Joke, but Joke's on Us - Feds ARE going to take control!

[Fred A. Miller]

Last week I posted video
<http://www.cato.org/blog/only-little-people-oppose-common-core> from an
American Enterprise Institute conference featuring supporters of
national curriculum standards---the Common Core---dismissing concerns
that implementing the standards might cost lots of taxpayer arms and
legs, and laughingly brushing aside concerns that the Common Core might
lead to federal control of school curricula. The latter emanated largely
from Chester "Checker" Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham
Institute, whose organization is a leading national standards supporter.

Yesterday news came out that made clear just how serious---and
unfunny---concerns about a federal takeover are. According to
<http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/04/common_assessment_groups_to_undergo_new_federal_review_process.html>
/Education Week/, the U.S. Department of Education will start a
"technical review process" for the Department-selected consortia
creating the national tests to go with the standards. And what will that
review look at? Not compliance with accounting standards or something
administrative, but test "item design and validation." That means, most
likely (in-depth information from the Department was off-line as of this
writing) reviewing /the specific questions that will go on the tests/.
And what is tested, of course, ultimately dictates what is taught, at
least if the test results are to have any concrete impact, ranging from
whether students advance to the next grade, to whether schools gain or
lose funding. Since the ultimate point of uniform standards is to have
essentially uniform accountability from state to state, they will have
to have some concrete impact, rendering this a clear next step in a
major Federal incursion into curricula.

http://www.cato.org/blog/saying-common-core-not-federal-joke-jokes-us

-- 
"Molon labe." MILLIONS of us will be waiting! 
--USA Patriots, 2013

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