Critics of Common Core academic standards see folly in implementation

WASHINGTON – Critics are relentless in warning about what they see as the folly of the new Common Core academic standards, designed to prepare students for college or a job by the time they graduate from high school.

The standards are being implemented in 45 states and the District of Columbia, but critics say they were written in private and never tested in real classrooms, and that educators aren’t familiar enough with the standards to use them.

Common Core’s supporters think the worries are overblown and miss nuances of the sweeping changes that spell out the reading and math skills students should have at each grade level, from kindergarten through high school.

One thing both sides agree on: When fully implemented, Common Core stands to reshape the vast majority of American classrooms.