Common Core, job-training education reforms will fail, says education researcher | Online Athens

The Common Core curriculum reform most states have signed on for is doomed to failure, predicted a pro-choice academic scholar Thursday in Athens.

But the movement will still increase federal control over public schools, said Jay Greene, head of the University of Arkansas’ department of education reform.

“It’s politically inevitable that efforts will collapse, be hijacked by the establishment or become an empty shell,” Greene said in a talk at Athens Country Club sponsored by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.

Most states have signed on for the Common Core Curriculum, which would install a common set of academic standards across the nation, along with a nationwide standardized testing regime.

But that’s because they could get exemptions from No Child Left Behind requirements and the chance to get more federal dollars, he said.

“Adoption was an empty gesture,” he said. “The people in charge won’t let it happen.”

And research has shown that in the long run, improved standards don’t lead to improved results, Greene told the luncheon gathering of about 50 people.

Common Core will fail for practical reasons, too, such as increased costs, he said.

“The new assessments will cost a lot more,” he said

via Common Core, job-training education reforms will fail, says education researcher | Online Athens.