NJ Education Report

According to the Wall Street Journal, presidential hopeful Chris Christie told the editorial board of the New Hampshire Union Leader that “implementing the Common Core wasn’t working in New Jersey and that he will likely address the situation in coming weeks, among his strongest comments on the controversial education standards.”

What does that even mean? The Common Core State Standards have been in place in New Jersey for five years and are considered superior to N.J.’s previous set of standards, the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, which were approved almost twenty years ago in 1996. Would he have New Jersey schools adopt inferior standards in order to placate the GOP’s far right? Does he forget that the Common Core was an initiative of the National Governors Association?  Is Christie confusing the Common Core with their aligned assessments? Is he so panicked that he’s willing to forswear previous support in order to pander to the GOP leadership? Does he think that flip-flopping will win him votes? Does he not remember eagerly signing on to the Common Core back in 2010, or what he said in August 2013?

“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, and with (Education) Secretary (Arne) Duncan. They haven’t been perfect on this but they’ve been better than a lot of folks have been in terms of the reform movement and I think that part of the Republican opposition that you see in some corners of Congress is a reaction, that knee-jerk reaction you see that’s happening in Washington right now, that if the president likes something, the Republicans in Congress don’t and if the Republicans in Congress like something, the president doesn’t. It is this mindset in D.C. right now that says we have to be at war constantly because to not be at war is to show weakness and to show weakness is to lead to failure and I just don’t buy that.”

Or what he said in September 2011?

The Common Core State Standards are a building block in our state’s education system meant to ensure that teachers and districts can innovate within a framework of high expectations and accountability. They are based on the fundamental belief that every child in every classroom deserves an education that will properly equip them with the skills they need for college and a career. Our aggressive implementation of these standards in partnership with districts will ensure that our children have an education that will serve them well in the next stages of their lives.”