Michigan Common Core Standards Under Debate

Reported by Jessica Schrader, Aysha Jamali and Nicole Krawcke

New education benchmarks currently being implemented in Michigan schools are under debate as the state legislature took steps this week to block funding that would fully implement the standards.

The Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district already uses the Common Core Standards in its curriculum and has for several years, according to Chris Rugh, PCCS English Language Arts and Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator. 

The Common Core Standards, which the State Board of Education unanimously adopted in June 2010, are a set of rigorous, college and career-ready curriculum standards for students that 46 states across the nation have also adopted to bring consistency in education. But some believe the benchmarks could lead to a federal takeover of Michigan's educational system by taking power away from the legislature and local school districts, according to an article in the Detroit Free Press.

On Tuesday, the state House of Representatives approved a measure as part of the overall budget that prohibits the Michigan Department of Education from spending funds on implementing the Common Core Standards for math or English, MLive.com reports.

The legislation is backed by Rep. Tom McMillin, a Republican from Rochester Hills. He told Patch on Wednesday that he would like to “take a pause, at least” to evaluate the Common Core Standards mandate.

“I think it’s a big mistake to let the National Governor’s Association in Washington decide what’s going to be taught in our schools,” he said.

Still, he said, schools that have taken steps to implement the standards should be free to adopt them if they feel it fits the curriculum—without the mandate. 

"There is nothing in the language above that indicates that this is a “pause,” as Rep. McMillin would like people to believe. This is an outright prohibition ..." said Martin Ackley, director of Office of Public and Governmental Affairs at the Michigan Department of Education, in a statement Wednesday. 

Rep. Kurt Heise (R-Plymouth), said he is neutral on the issue but voted to prohibit the Michigan Department of Education from spending funds on implementing the standards as a short term plan to have more time to discuss the Common Core Standards mandate. 

"I've spoken to teachers and those in the union who are specifically concerned about the data collection component," he said.

A part of the initiative is to replace existing state testing with common assessment systems to measure student performance annually.

"This affects how teachers are graded, monitored and measured," he said. "Some  of them think it forces them to conform to a rigid standard of teaching."

State Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton), said in a column released this week that he first favored the Common Core Standards but no longer does because they go beyond establishing a common education benchmark.

"We don’t need to have standards that tell teachers how to teach. Teachers go to universities to learn how to teach. Standards should focus on what to teach," he wrote.

Although the funding at the state level wasn't approved, Heise said it won't impact local districts yet.

"I don't see it coming before the full House until the fall," he said.

Rugh said Plymouth Canton Schools will still move forward implementing the Common Core State Standards no matter what.

"They are quality, rigorous, complex standards that really raise the bar," he said. "We know that universities and business leaders across the nation support them. Heck, our own governor supports them. And we think that's the way to go."