Peter Kohler of Cablevision has called out the Board of Regents and the state legislature for their bungled implementation of the Common Core. Thanks to Maurizio Milana who caught this on News12 and passed along the link. Below is the transcript of the editorial. Click here if you’d like to watch the video.
The state’s Common Core rollout has been compared to building an airplane and flying it at the same time.
Long Island Regent Roger Tilles termed it worse than the “Obamacare” rollout. Now Tilles will join a Regents task force charged with finding out why things went so wrong. He’s a good choice.
Tilles has been a persistent but often lonely voice speaking out about the inept implementation of rigorous Common Core standards that he vigorously supports. He has condemned all the excessive testing, especially testing English language learners and those with learning disabilities at an inappropriate grade level.
He was alone in condemning the rush to implement a deeply flawed teacher evaluation system.
All of this was done to gain federal Race to the Top funds. But most turned a deaf ear to Tilles’ warnings, especially Chancellor Merryl Tisch and Education Commissioner John King. They finally got more than an earful from parents and educators at forums across the state, including some contentious sessions on Long Island.
While it’s good that Tisch established this task force, it’s also time to take a fresh look at how the Regents themselves performed. Why did they fail to provide oversight over state education officials responsible for this train wreck?
Perhaps reforms need to start with the Board of Regents. Maybe it’s time to consider electing the Regents, as Rockville Centre Principal Carol Burris recently recommended in Newsday.
With the notable exception of Tilles, experience suggests that the Regents–all appointed by state legislators–are out of step. They should be made accountable to the people.
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