Common Core Nightmare: Homeschooling is on the Rise, and Big Brother is Watching

By Lauren Richardson

Common Core Standards are here to stay whether we like it or not says Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and school administrators.

Some common core concerns are that many outstanding teachers and administrators will pursue other career options or retire rather than try to transition into the Common Core standards. The stress of getting their students to perform will likely cause more teacher and administrator burnout.

There are concerns that the Common Core Standards require younger students to learn more at a quicker pace than they ever have before. With the increased rigor and higher level thinking skills, early childhood programs will become more rigid. Pre-Kindergarten will be more important, and skills students used to learn in second grade will need to be taught in Kindergarten. All this equates to more stress for our children.

Another concern is that the Common Core Standards assessment will not have equivalency test for students with special needs. Many states provide students with special needs a modified version of the test. There will be no modified test for the Common Core Standards, meaning that 100% of a school’s population will have their results reported for accountability purposes.

The Common Core Standards will exclude many current textbooks to be obsolete causing a pricy fix as schools have to adopt new materials that are effectively Common Core ready. The Common Core Standards will also cost schools money to update their technology needed for the Common Core Standards Assessments. Most of the assessments will be online which will create many districts issues in that they will not have enough computers for all students to be assessed in a timely manner.

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