NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The State Senate Education Committee is holding hearings this week to discuss a new set of controversial benchmarks for math and reading.
So far, 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core Standards. They're designed to raise the bar for American students with advanced problem solving, writing, and critical thinking skills.
Jamie Woodson, president of the influential State Collaborative on Reforming Education, says Tennessee’s children need to be challenged to reach higher.
“States like Tennessee really led the effort for the Common Core state standards to have a higher and more rigorous set of standards that would prepare kids for success beyond high school and that we as states are competitive with each other and the world.”
An unlikely coalition of interest groups opposes implementation of the standards. Conservative groups see common core as an overreach by the federal government.
Tennessee’s largest teachers union wants implementation of the standards postponed at least a year to give schools and students more time to adjust.