These are the Common Core Weekend Reads for February 8th, 2015.

This is a review of the past week of news on Common Core nationwide and in North Carolina.

Articles are organized by category.

Prior Edition of Weekend Reads: 2-1-15

NC Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) Updates:

NC ASRC Site 
Next ASRC meeting: February 16th, 1-5 pm. Be aware, location published for February is Dept. of Administration, but January’s meeting was moved on short notice to Dept. of Public Instruction. I contacted Chris Mears at Dept. of Administration and he indicated he thought it would be at the same location as January’s meeting (DPI).

NC UPDATES:

• #NCGA Bill Filed To Fund Common Core Commission
• NC Public Schools Forum ‘Key Education Issues’ Breakfast (Video)
• BEST NC Releases Their “2020 Vision” For NC Education MORE: Action Alert: Public Input requested
• Why is North Carolina still a member of SBAC?
• 4th grade reading assignments: Black Panthers, Police brutality, Need for Amnesty

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

“When I imagine myself administering the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), I picture my students struggling and failing. And not because they are academically weak – but because test designers have created a test meant to yield this failure. This failure will undo the confidence I have strived to build in them. Instead of acknowledging and nurturing kids on their own path of learning we are punishing them because they fail to learn fast enough; yet it is the system’s failure we are ignoring.”
-Living Dialogue, Julianna Krueger Dauble: My Statement of Professional Conscience

“Yet the most astounding statement I have read is the claim that Common Core standards are ‘internationally benchmarked.’ They are not. The Common Core fails any comparison with the standards of high-achieving countries, just as they fail compared to the old California standards. They are lower in the total scope of learned material, in the depth and rigor of the treatment of mathematical subjects, and in the delayed and often inconsistent and incoherent introductions of mathematical concepts and skills.”
– Bluegrass Institute via Truth In American Education, Quote of the Day: Common Core international benchmarking??

LEGISLATIVE/LEGAL:

• ESEA Reauthorization Roundtable Discussion. Link and Notes.
• My Position on the ESEA Reauthorization ALSO: In ESEA Reauthorization, Why Would ALL Children be Classified as Title I?
• Virginia Senate votes to cut number of SOLs, delay A-F school grading
• ND Committee Votes To Reject Common Core Repeal Bill
• Jindal Issues Executive Order over PARCC
• FL Bill Created to “ease effects” of Common Core Implementation
• Virginia Senate Vote Bans Adoption of Common Core
• Bossier Parish School Board latest to request removal from Common Core
• Jerry Brown Hit With Massive $1 Billion Common Core Bill
• Scott Walker Removes Smarter Balanced from Wisconsin’s Budget
• PARCC Delay and Review Bill Filed in Arkansas House

POLITICAL/PROTESTS:

• Haslam turning attention to “ruined brand” of Common Core More here.
• Scott Walker retreats from replacing ‘Wisconsin Idea’ language with ‘Workforce Development’ language
• Here’s Why Gov. Bobby Jindal Discussed Islam During his Speech on Common Core
• Common Core will be a 2016 fault line. Jeb Bush beware.

HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLES:

• Parents Against The Common Core: Moms are wiping the floor with Policy Wonks
• Visit: Parents Against The Common Core

THE WEEKEND READS:

• Pearson Is Everywhere: All Those Government Contracts
• ND Common Core Transparency Price Tag: $437,411
• All Children Are Not the Same: Common Core Standards Fail to Keep Child Development in Mind
• Common Core a Dangerous Distraction to Catholic Identity, Says Newman Society President ​
• Who is In and Who Is Out of Common Core Assessment Consortia
• Common Core Mantra and Singing in the Shower

TESTING UPDATES:

• Nevada District Bullies Mother Over Opt-Out Notification
• “Parent Refusal” Policy for the STATEWIDE Smarter Balanced Assessment
•  Pearson’s History of Testing Problems​
• SBAC Tests show no validity or reliability
• Who is In and Who Is Out of Common Core Assessment Consortia
• PARCC Delay and Review Bill Filed in Arkansas House
• Superintendents urge Common Core testing delay: ‘How can test data be valid under testing conditions like this?’

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

• Greg Abbott vs Bill Bennett on Common Core (VIDEO)
• ‘Grit and gratitude’ evaluated on Calif  report cards
• Moms Discuss APP Education

TWEETS OF THE WEEK:

Fighting Common Core is a responsibility to our children says Heidi Huber of @OhioAgainstCCSS http://t.co/dfJ0AbakFY #StopCommonCore

— Parents Against CC (@NoToCommonCore) February 6, 2015

Big $ from unaccountable #NGO‘s ==> Common Core Commercials: Who Pays? http://t.co/UBIhUQCrIX via @pushthependulum #StopCommonCore

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) February 5, 2015

BREAKING: Scott Walker removes funding for Common Core testing (Smarter Balance) in #wibudget #wiright #tcot #PJNET #StopCommonCore

— Matt Batzel (@MattBatzel) February 4, 2015

Sign the Petition to Remove Kentucky from Common Core State Standards via @NoCommonCoreKY http://t.co/s7x2ZWzMTr #StopCommonCore

— Truth in American Ed (@TruthinAmEd) February 3, 2015

@LadyLiberty1885 @RopeOK This is Alinsky in action. https://t.co/ZBLNbjdRQH I don’t have any research so I’m going to call you names.

— Logue (@manateespirit) February 3, 2015