By Emma Hierholzer ’15

Common Core—two words that often drag along a slew of thoughts, spoken in voices of greatly varying opinions. Stuck between its supporters and opponents, it seems that the shiny new policy—the Phoenix of President George W. Bush’s No-Child-Left-Behind ashes—has seen better days. In light of this recent backlash against the educational reform, a rarity has occurred within political circles; liberals and conservatives alike are calling for the dismantling of Common Core and perhaps all of standardized testing in school systems across America.

Starting as a bipartisan endeavor in the beginning of Obama’s administration, which was heavily advocated by policymakers, Republicans and Democrats revered in the Common Core’s promises of new tests, the eradication of specific curricula, and the measuring of critical thinking skills. These promises would remain consistent across state lines. But now, some of those that so fervently endorsed the policy’s reforms to school testing and benchmark progress reports have turned their cries of admiration into those of disapproval.

On the conservative side, some argue that although the reformations were initiated by state law makers, the Common Core has turned into an institution of “big government.” Some liberals, on the other hand, are beginning to think that the Common Core is in fact another high-stakes testing program actually imposed from Washington with big help from wealthy foundations (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and little help from teachers, parents and local communities. Although many policy experts and moderate politicians, not to mention President Obama, still support the Common Core, the opinions of dissenters have had a seemingly snowballing effect; more and more people are being swayed in the direction of opposing the educational reforms. With the conservatives fearing a federal takeover, and the liberals fearing too much influence from big business, it seems that two unlikely parties have found common ground in hating the same thing they once championed.

But when did the Common Core specifically fall out of graces with people? Most can trace its problems back to the Obama administration’s heavy handed tactics to induce states to join the Common Core. With the recession still in full swing, states now have been accused of adopting Common core policies too quickly due to the massive incentive proposed by the administration. If states began adopting the new college readiness standards set out by the Common Core, they could have the chance to win federal funds provided by the Department of Education’s new program called Race to the Top. This large sum of money, critics argue, clearly steered states in the direction of adopting Common Core policy changes. Other critics also felt that all the philanthropists and corporations were ending up gaining control as they teamed up with Common Core lobbyists and policy makers in the support of the new reforms. And to cap it all off, David Coleman was elected president of College Board– the same man who was a main creator of Common Core ideals. Conspiracy theorists have even begun to think that the Common Core and its testing protocols will be a financial payout for College Board.

The grand bipartisan consensus has been cut clean to the bone, offering a preview of the obstacles facing future reform efforts. Activists are even attacking Coleman’s new Advanced Placement tests, overseen by the College Board—tests they fear have been influenced with the same agendas of the Common Core.

Amid all of this chaos, the once happy-faced politicians who found promise in the proposed changes to standardized testing in schools are frowning with worry as they start to wonder what happens when the ‘Phoenix’ burns…

The question is: will anything rise from the ashes?