Columbus Dispatch
Ohio's education standards debated
By Charlie Boss  and  Jim Siegel
May 5, 2013 

New math and English standards known as the Common Core are already in Ohio classrooms, even as opposition mounts from groups that include those affiliated with the tea party. 

Kindergartners in Hamilton schools are having book discussions, writing their thoughts about where a sneaky rabbit might have gone at the end of their story. 

A third-grade class in Reynoldsburg is trying to explain what words such as pollution and contamination mean in a unit where they will create their own water filters. 

Pickerington seventh-graders are using linear equations to figure out which cellphone carrier would best serve a family and business owners. Several schools already have aligned all grade levels to the new math and language-arts standards that spell out what students should know to be successful in college and their careers. 

Ohio districts are only a year away from the 2014-15 deadline to implement the more-rigorous Common Core academic standards, but many have been phasing them in since Ohio adopted them in 2010. 

Meanwhile, inside the Statehouse, a debate has arisen over whether Ohio should remain among the 45 states that decided to replace their math and English standards with those in the Common Core. They’ll also introduce new tests starting in 2014. 

“I would be disappointed if they drew the rug out from under us,” said Susan Witten, who oversees curriculum at Hamilton schools. 

Some say concerns over the Common Core reached new levels when conservative commentators Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin began criticizing the standards a few months ago. 

The chorus of opposition grew to the point that the Republican National Committee in mid-April adopted a resolution opposing the Common Core, saying it is an “inappropriate overreach to standardize and control the education of our children so they will conform to a preconceived ‘ normal.’  ” 

“Please seriously consider taking action to ensure that Ohio rejects the implementation of Common Core, and keep the education of Ohio students under the control of Ohioans,” a woman wrote last month to House Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, one of numerous efforts by standards opponents to reach out to lawmakers. 

Read the rest of the article at the Columbus Dispatch