Cuomo Admits Common Core is Flawed, but Stops Short of Calling for Moratorium

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

ALBANY – The recent the controversial surrounding New York’s implementation of the 21^st Century Learning Standards – more commonly known as “Common Core” – has not gone unnoticed by lawmakers in Albany.

After months of criticism from teachers, parents and students across the state, leaders in both the State Assembly and State Senate are calling for a moratorium on the implementation of Common Core. This despite the fact that New York Education Commissioner John King, Jr. has said the standards are still new and will take time to adjust to. He has also said that the state is allowing for the performance evaluations to be slowly phased in over a seven-year period and so educators and parents shouldn’t rush to judgement.

Commissioner King appeared in Jamestown in December to address common core. In January, the largest teachers’ union in the state announced it had ‘no confidence‘ in King as education commissioner.

While it has become clear that many are upset with Common Core, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will not call for a moratorium on the education standard. Instead, he’s assembling an independent panel to review common core and assess its effectiveness.

Below is a statement from the governor’s office, released on Tuesday, regarding the common core:

Governor Cuomo believes that the best long term economic development strategy is ensuring New York State has the strongest possible education system. Common Core is an issue about which there has been a lot of dialogue. The Governor believes that we need to set real standards for our students and have a meaningful teacher evaluation system, and continues to support the Common Core agenda.

However, the Governor believes that the way that Common Core has been managed by the Board of Regents is flawed, leading to too much uncertainty, confusion and anxiety among students and their parents. The strength of public education in New York is dependent on a rational system that is well administered.

Two weeks ago, the Governor announced that he will assemble a panel that includes education experts and members of the legislature to identify flaws in Common Core’s rollout and take corrective action by the end of this session. The Governor believes there are two issues – common core and teacher evaluations – and they must be analyzed separately. It would be premature to consider any moratorium before the panel is allowed to do its work.