Christie: Common Core not working

PEMBERTON – Gov. Chris Christie has long talked about his childhood teachers and the value he places on education.

Christie said Thursday at Burlington County College that he wants to ensure "our children receive the quality education that it is their right to receive and our obligation to provide."

But he doesn't believe New Jersey is on the right path.

Christie said the Common Core school standards, which he once supported, are not working for students.

The federal government, through a grant program, encourages the use of Common Core, which spells out what academic skills students should master at each grade level.

The standards have been adopted by most states, although many parents, teachers and GOP voters nationwide are opposed to them.

"It's now been five years since Common Core was adopted," he said. "And the truth is that it's simply not working. It has brought only confusion and frustration to our parents. And has brought distance between our teachers and the communities where they work. Instead of solving problems in our classrooms, it is creating new ones. And when we aren't getting the job done for our children, we need to do something different."

The Republican governor — and potential presidential candidate — said he has directed Commissioner of Education David Hespe to assemble a group of parents and educators to work on the development of New Jersey educational standards.

"I want New Jersey parents and teachers to be the driving force behind the establishment of these new standards," Christie said. "I want New Jersey business partners, New Jersey school administrators, and New Jersey school boards to work together in this important effort.

"I have heard from far too many people ... that the Common Core standards were not developed by New Jersey educators and parents. As a result, the buy-in from both communities has not been what we need for maximum achievement."

Christie said the controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam would continue and it would be reviewed and improved based on test results, "not fear or speculation."

Thousands of parents and students boycotted the PARCC tests this year in New Jersey.

"We must test our children because federal law requires it and because it is the only way to objectively judge our progress," he said. "Bringing educational standards home to New Jersey does nothing to change those obligations.

New Jersey Education Association President Wendell Steinhauer said the governor was "completely illogical" in calling for the rejection of Common Core while also insisting on the continuation of PARCC.

"If the governor is genuinely interested in new standards, the state must abandon the PARCC fiasco, which is taking a terrible toll on the quality of instruction and student learning in New Jersey," Steinhauer said.

The governor said New Jersey has historically been a leader in setting educational standards and has had high achievement on some national tests.

The National Assessment of Education Progress, which is known as "the nation's report card," consistently ranks New Jersey at or near the top in terms of student achievement.

But Christie pointed to the graduation rates of the state's two-year community colleges and four-year institutions and said they suggest students are not prepared for college-level work.

"For example, we have community colleges where fewer than 10 percent of students pursuing a two-year course of study graduate within three years," he said. "This is not surprising when you realize that across our entire community college system, anywhere from 60 percent to 82 percent of the students need remedial education before they can even begin to tackle college-level work."

C. Andre' Daniels, a board member and chair of the resource development committee for the National Parent Teacher Association, liked what he heard from the governor.

"I think if it moves the agenda for our own children and youth, then it's absolutely what we needed to hear," said Daniels, a Westampton resident. "I'm quite frankly a big proponent of local control. I think when you look at the sobering statistics of where our children are, that they're just not globally ready college- or career-wise."

Celeste E. Whittaker; 856-486-2437; cwhittaker@courierpostonline.com

SHIFTING POSITION

Here's a look at how Chris Christie's statements on Common Core have evolved in recent months:

• August 2013 — Less than two years ago, Christie was touting his state's commitment to the standards, which he'd signed onto as part of an application for Race to the Top funds. "We're doing Common Core in New Jersey and we're going to continue. And this is one of those areas where I've agreed more with the president than not," Christie told the audience at a school summit in Las Vegas on August 2013, according to video footage of the event.

• November 2014 — Christie was publicly distancing himself. "I have some real concerns about Common Core and how it's being rolled out and that's why I put a commission together to study it," he said during his monthly "Ask the Governor" radio show. He repeated those concerns during a television interview that December and in another radio appearance in January.

• February 2015 — At an Iowa GOP county dinner, the nature of Christie's opposition appeared to have shifted. "I've said this publicly before: I have grave concerns about the way this is being done, and especially the way the Obama administration has tried to implement it through tying federal funding to these things. And that changes the entire nature of it, from what was initially supposed to be a voluntary type of system and states could decide on their own to now having federal money tied to it in ways that give me really, really grave concern."

• April 2015 — As educators in New Jersey await the completion of a report on the issue of student assessments commissioned by Christie and due at the end of July, Christie made clear during an editorial board interview with New Hampshire's Union Leader newspaper in April that he was looking for alternatives. "I'm open to changing it because it's not working in New Jersey," he reportedly said.

• Thursday — Christie disavowed the Common Core standards in a speech and announced the appointment of a new working group to come up with an alternative. "It's now been five years since Common Core was adopted. And the truth is that it's simply not working," he said, according to prepared remarks. "Instead of solving problems in our classrooms, it is creating new ones. And when we aren't getting the job done for our children, we need to do something different."