The Washington Post – Max Ehrenfreund
“Congress is set to rewrite the laws governing the nation’s schools this year, and the Common Core might turn into a history lesson. The Obama administration has quietly supported the national standards for students in kindergarten through high school, developed with the support of the Gates Foundation by a group of state education officials. Only a handful of states have refused to adopt the Core or have abandoned it, despite widespread frustration with the standards among conservatives and educators. That could change with legislation released Tuesday by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the new chairman of the Senate’s education committee. In a rebuke to the administration, Alexander’s bill implies that Obama’s Education Department has overstepped its authority and gives states more freedom to choose their own academic standards, among other things.”(more)