Illinois dumped Common Core!

Georgia has now joined the states of Alabama, Utah, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania in withdrawing from the national Common Core tests. With this latest state withdrawal, the program appears to be in danger of unraveling.

According to Politico, now that the new math and language tests that are tied to theCommon Core national academic standards are almost ready, state officials have found that the exams are too long, too expensive, and require a higher level of computer technology than is often available. Perhaps first and foremost, however, states are fighting back against the standards as a federal intrusion into an area that has historically been reserved for them.

“There are going to be lots and lots of forces pulling states away from these assessments,” said Andy Smarick, an education analyst with Bellwether Education Partners. “It doesn’t look good.”

In addition, the House has just passed the Student Success Act (SSA), a proposal sponsored by GOP Reps. John Kline (MN) and Todd Rokita (IN), to rewrite the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.

The Heritage Foundation reports that the SSA would eliminate the federal mandate known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for reading and math proficiency, and thereby allow states to design their own accountability systems.

The SSA would also eliminate the Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) federal mandate, a burdensome and ineffective regulation requiring teachers of core subjects to be state certified and have a bachelor’s degree. With research indicating that teacher impact on student achievement is not affected by whether a teacher is traditionally or alternatively certified – or even uncertified – the SSA again returns this decision to state and local educational leaders.

Very pertinent to the Common Core standards, the SSA would also remove maintenance-of-effort regulations that require states to spend money in order to obtain the associated federal funding.

Read More: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/07/24/Common-Core-In-Jeopardy-As-More-States-Withdraw