Dive Brief:
- After opting out of the Common Core last month, Indiana released the final draft of its new proposed standards.
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The Tuesday release date gives the Education Roundtable, which is co-chaired by Gov. Mike Pence and Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, less than a week to review the new standards berfore sending them to the State Board of Education—if they are acceptable.
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The Education Roundtable can make specific changes to standards, but the State Board of Education is only able to vote all or nothing when it meets on April 28. According to a legislative mandate from 2013, the State Board of Education has until July to pick a new set of standards to be implemented in the fall.
Dive Insight:
When Indiana decided to become the first state to drop the Common Core last month, it really created a down-to-the-wire precedent. It feels unfortunate that the state is so rushed to create these new standards. When its leaders opted out of the Common Core, they had a chance to show the nation how one state can create truly rigorous standards for itself; however, the quick turnaround time for coming up with new standards has some critics skeptical.
The last draft the state created of these new, non-Common Core standards were called “half-baked” by one expert, as more than 70% of the 6th through 12th grade standards were taken directly from the Common Core. The new draft, however, is anticipated to be more finessed and starkly different from the Common Core. According to Claire Fiddian-Green, the special assistant to the governor of education innovation, no formal analysis between the new standards and the Common Core will take place, and over 6,000 hours were spent creating the new proposal.