No Capitalist Left Behind

[Modern School]

In August, the California Board of Education approved Common Core Standards (CCS), aligning our standards with 33 other states. The vote barely beat a deadline to adopt CCS or lose federal “Race to the Top” (RTTT) funds worth $700 million. On the surface it seemed like a smart move: reform education and win much needed funds. In reality, the plan weakened education in California, as we already had some of the toughest standards in the nation. Furthermore, implementation of CCS is expected to cost taxpayers $1.6 billion for new textbooks, according to EdSource, an independent, non-partisan education research group.

So why would the Board of Education commit tax payers to $1.6 billion in order to dumb down our schools? The math makes no sense for kids or taxpayers, but it does make sense for the big education publishing houses that have been lobbying hard for the adoption of CCS across the country. While CCS currently only covers math and reading, these two subjects account for over 70% of the textbook market. According to The Education Business Blog, the Common Core will drive text book sales in coming years. “Common Core Standards (CCS) will have a profound impact on the instructional materials market. The big players like Pearson and McGraw-Hill are on-board as endorsing partners. . .” Pearson had a 46% jump in profits in 2009 ($648 million) due in part to the adoption of CCS by other states.

CCS is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of corporate educational plunder.

For more, please go to http://modeducation.blogspot.com/2010/10/no-capitalist-left-behind.html