These are the Common Core Weekend Reads for December 21, 2014.

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: 12-21-14
Weekend Reads archive at StopCommonCoreNC HERE.

NC UPDATES:

• BEST NC’s 2020 Vision Initiative
• Surprise another group meets under the radar
• Academic Standards Review Commission to receive funding

APUSH UPDATES:

• ​Exploring the AP U.S. History Dispute​

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

“In his final days on the job, Commissioner King received a letter from Governor Cuomo that Cuomo released to the media. It was not the typical note of ‘thanks for your service and good luck in the new job.’ Instead, the Governor demanded that King, before he leaves, offer candid thoughts on how to significantly change education policy. The governor asked why it is that recent teacher evaluations show 99 percent of teachers ranked highly, while two-thirds of third- to eighth-graders essentially failed the new Common Core-related tests in math and English. “It is incredible to believe that is an accurate reflection of the state of education in New York,” Cuomo said.
-​North Country Public Radio, “​King exits with Common Core as his legacy

LEGISLATIVE/LEGAL:

• Ohio House won’t vote on Common Core repeal legislation
• Ohio Parents Concerned About Common Core Don’t Actually Have Much of a Choice
• Common Core Fight Coming To Arkansas Legislature

POLITICAL/PROTESTS:

• Chris Christie: I have real concerns about Common Core
• ​Support for Common Core could cost Jeb Bush in the Primary​

HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLES:

• Common Core State Standards aren’t so easy to replace
• Common Core’s standards can be replaced by first-rate standards overnight
• Common Core’s Test for the states (read the comments, heh)
• The Fordham Mikes And Their Strawman Addiction

THE WEEKEND READS:

• Who Got The Biggest Gates Foundation Grants in 2014​
• A Stunning Admission from Bill Gates
• Mary Byrne: We need a return to local control​
• ‘Tis the Season for College and Career Readiness
• Cool but scary cyber attack map highlights education
• ​Rage against the Common Core​
• Tools to teach your children history

TESTING UPDATES:

• All Ohio third-graders to retake reading test

WEEKEND VIDEOS:

• Video: Bill Gates, Expert on all that matters
• Video: Refuse the Tests
• Video: W. Virginia Legislature hearing on Common Core

TWEETS OF THE WEEK:

Provide facts & sources about #CommonCore? Get ad hominem attacks as a reply. http://t.co/r6VOEvcu5m #StopCommonCore pic.twitter.com/xwfiB2N1CN

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) December 27, 2014

#CommonCore supporters need to start citing serious evidence. If only there were some http://t.co/lYOyAPktQa

— Neal McCluskey (@NealMcCluskey) December 22, 2014

Public support for Common Core is clearly lacking, says @CatoCEF‘s @NealMcCluskey: http://t.co/2vszpE4FxF #education

— Cato Institute (@CatoInstitute) December 26, 2014

DPI’s #ESEA app makes the claim 12k responded w/ Common Core feedback. For the 100th time, WHERE IS IT? http://t.co/GK6WZ16U3q #ncpol #nced

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) December 26, 2014

Gee, John Hood’s latest makes so much sense now … http://t.co/gKOUGLnoWm Because of this…http://t.co/l2eNcMfuSW #nced #stopcommoncore

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) December 24, 2014

@WSCP1 @dangerpolitics Welcome to the class of common core @sportscandi pic.twitter.com/cYlB1E5zj4

— TweetMeteorologist (@SteveLCopeland) December 22, 2014