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Petition Drive Supports Common Core in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Thousands of Tennesseans have signed a petition supporting the state's Common Core education standards amid efforts by some lawmakers to do away with them.

A statewide alliance of more than 400 business, community and education organizations in Tennessee released the petition yesterday with more than 9,000 signatures.

The Nashville Chamber of Commerce was one of the organizations participating. The Chamber’s Adam Lister signed the petition.

“We have been asking for years for legislators and leaders to increase the standards that our children are assessed by, and the Common Core is preceisely what we’ve been asking for. So, the Nashville Chamber and the business community in Middle Tennessee is firmly behind Common Core."

The standards were developed by educators and the National Governors Association and have been adopted by 45 states. They are intended to provide students with the critical thinking, problem solving and writing skills needed for college and the workforce.

Critics say the standards were written in private, never tested in real classrooms, and that educators aren't familiar enough with the standards to use them.