Texas Education Agency

AUSTIN – Commissioner of Education Robert Scott applauded the comments of congressmen and witnesses who today acknowledged the risk of making the Common Core Standards Initiative mandatory standards for all public schools.

The mathematics and English standards being drafted by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers were the subject of a hearing before the Committee on Education and Labor today in Washington, D.C. Adoption of the standards counts heavily in the competition to win Race to the Top grants from the U.S. Department of Education and could be easily incorporated into the upcoming reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. Texas and Alaska are the only states that have not agreed to adopt these national standards and national tests.

U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-PA., said during the hearing, “...the mandatory adoption could have the unintended consequences of lowering the bar for states and local communities that have voluntarily established standards even more rigorous than those developed through the Common Core.”

Cathy Allen, vice-chair of the St. Mary’s County Board of Education in Maryland, who testified at the committee, said, “We do have some reservations about what appears to be greater coercion from the federal government in adopting such standards.”

Scott said, “We are glad that Congressman Thompson and others recognize that this is a potential federal intrusion into the nation’s schools. The authority to determine what students in our public schools should learn properly resides with the states, local school boards and parents. Texans have been leaders in setting college and career ready standards. We do not favor federally imposed one-size-fits-all national standards and tests.”

More information about today’s hearing is available at:

http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1393

http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/2009/12/improving-our-competitiveness.shtml (This content is no longer available.)

Page last modified on 2/15/2011.