NASHVILLE, Tenn. ― One of the nation’s leading opponents of the education reform movement said Thursday that a public review process the governor has created for Tennessee’s Common Core standards can be effective if teachers’ ideas are taken seriously.
Education historian Diane Ravitch, a research professor at New York University and former U.S. assistant education secretary, was in Nashville to speak at a conference of career and technical education professionals.
Her visit comes during the same week Tennessee lawmakers filed measures to do away with the state’s Common Core standards.
While she opposes the standards, Ravitch said there’s no harm in getting public input about them, as long as what teachers say is taken seriously because of their close relationship with students.
“I’d rather see the teachers review the standards, because I think the teachers know what kids can do,” said Ravitch, adding that teachers should be the ones to construct the standards.
Common Core is a set of English and math standards that spell out what students should know and when. The standards ― which have been adopted by most of the states ― are intended to provide students with the critical thinking, problem solving and writing skills needed for college and the workforce.
