Brown: Common Core one of many education reforms

ST. MARYS - Common Core standards are part of a long line of education reforms that began during the Reagan administration, according to a local school superintendent.

Shawn Brown, who heads up St. Marys City Schools, on Wednesday gave background information and his personal thoughts on the controversial topic to St. Marys Rotary Club members.

Brown said education reform has been around since former President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education wrote the 1983 report, "A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform."

"I think that one report has led to all these different reforms that we have had in the last 30 years in education. Prior to that, we were standard quo for probably 60 or 70 years," Brown said.

Outcome-based education, No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top and Common Core are education initiatives introduced since "A Nation At Risk," he said.

Common Core state standards in 2010 were adopted for English, language arts and mathematics by 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia for grades K-12, Brown explained.

Prior to the standards, each state had its own that ranged in complexity, he said.

Ohio as a whole remains supportive of Common Core, Brown said.

"Common Core is a set of state standards. They are standards, not curriculum," he said. "Standards are there. We choose the curriculum to meet the state standards. Hopefully if we choose the correct curriculum our kids will be successful on the assessments (tests)."

Assessments, such as Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, are used to determine if students have met the standards, he said.

Brown said supporters of Common Core say it promotes critical thinking, develops problem-solving skills and covers a more concentrated number of topics.

Those in opposition cite federal government intrusion, loss of local control, data intrusion and a program that "follows the money," Brown said.

Ohio House Bill 597 was introduced by the House Rules and Reference Committee during the lame duck session last year to repeal Common Core in Ohio.

"If it goes through, it will repeal the Common Core state standards for Ohio. It will also repeal Ohio's new standards for science and social studies not covered by Common Core," Brown said.

The bill would replace Common Core with the previous Massachusetts state standards. By 2018-19, a new set of standards would have to be created for Ohio, he said.

Massachusetts' standards were chosen because they were determined to be the best state standards, he said, adding he was unsure how the process worked.

"Interestingly enough, Massachusetts no longer has their state standards. They use Common Core state standards," he said.

Brown did not know how long Massachusetts had its own state standards before switching to Common Core.

The superintendent said teachers have been trying to align with different standards for years and will continue to adapt if the proposed bill is passed.

"They have spent the last three years developing curriculum for Common Core. They would have to learn the ins and outs of the Massachusetts state standards, which they will have for a year and then learn the standards for the new state standards for 2018," he said.

Brown said money is the driving factor for implementing Common Core and previous education reforms.

"I think it is all about generating money all the time in education. If you think about all the money that could be generated with test development, textbook development. Money is always going to play something in it," he said.

Brown believes colleges will need to match Common Core to make education uniform. He acknowledged education is always evolving.