In 2010 the Alabama State Board of Education adopted math and English standards that aligned with the Common Core State Standards, a non-partisan effort led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State Schools Officers. Business, education, and parent groups across the state and across the country have rallied behind the standards in the wake of repeal efforts based on misinformation. A new effort has arisen. In March of 2019, the Alabama Senate voted to repeal the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards. The Save Our Standards movement presents the facts and the benefits of the Alabama Standards to ease the fears of parents who have been exposed to the misinformation. This page contains links to documents and websites that support this effort. We strongly urge the legislature to keep the standards in place. Standards are transferable across state lines helping workforce and military families. Alabama’s standards were written by Alabama teachers. The standards are set by state, and curriculum is chosen at the local level. Repealing standards has unintended consequences -- there is a cost to school districts, and there is a significant disruption in teaching and learning. Simply put, we urge the legislature to let teachers teach. Here are the facts: Alabama is making progress in math and reading. From 2015 to 2017, the percentage of Alabama students scoring at or above Proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress Scores (NAEP) in 4th grade math rose to 32% from 26%, faster than the national average. Fourth grade students have had the most exposure to the College and Career Ready Standards. Also, Alabama reduced the gap between black and white students in 8th grade math to 26 points from 28 points. Here are facts about reading improvements. From 2009 to 2017, Alabama increased the percentage of students scoring at or above Proficient in 4th grade reading to 31% from 29%. This was greater than the national average growth. Alabama’s NAEP scores in 8th grade reading climbed to 258 from 255, tracking the same progress nationwide. Facts also show more of Alabama's high school graduates are prepared for college. In 2018, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) found that college remediation for students who graduated from our state's high schools is down to 28% from 34.6% in 2011. That means fewer Alabama graduates are having to take remediation classes when they get to college. Please contact your legislator today.
Myths about Common Core
The Common Core State Standards simply provide a baseline of skills that students should have at the end of each grade level. Standards are not curriculum. They are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. The Common Core State Standards were developed as a bi-partisan effort by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association. These state leaders used educational research and best practices to develop a baseline of grade-appropriate skills that students across the country should have at each grade level. In Alabama, the State Board of Education adopted the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards in 2010, which are aligned with the Common Core State Standards but include state-specific content. Our Alabama Standards and their implementation are controlled by the State Board, and curriculum is developed to meet the standards. Local teachers, principals, superintendents and others will decide how the standards are to be met. Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms. Curriculum decisions still reside with the State Board and the local education authorities.
There is no part of the Alabama Standards that requires or requests data collection from students or parents. The State of Alabama is not required to report any information due to its involvement with the Common Core State Standards. Student data is still protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Home schools and private schools are not under any law or regulation or policy that will require them to meet public school education standards.
It is true that American school children are academically behind some of their foreign peers. This is because American Educational Standards have not kept up, and now, other nations have passed us by inserting more rigor into their standards. The Common Core State Standards have been endorsed by dozens of education associations, business organizations, parent groups and military affi liations. See a growing list of supporters here: www.corestandards.org/resources/statements-of-support.
Parents remain very engaged in Alabama Public Schools. In fact, the Alabama PTA endorses the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards. And textbook adoption is still a community effort. A committee of parents and educators vet textbooks from a variety of vendors and make recommendations of their preferred textbooks. The local Board of Education then considers the recommendations and either confi rms them or asks that the process begin again.
The Alabama State Board of Education adopted the current Alabama Standards for K-12 education in 2010. The Alabama Standards are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for math and English. The math standards were introduced during the 2012-2013 school year in Alabama, and English standards will be implemented during the 2013-2014 school year in Alabama. Changing course now will not only be incredibly expensive, it will essentially put learning on hold while new standards are developed and adopted.
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