Military Members Lend Support to Common Core
A group of retired military members gathered at the State Capitol Tuesday to show support for the Common Core education standards. Georgia has invested plenty of time and money in the standards’ implementation. But a bill that cleared the state Senate puts Georgia’s future participation in the Common Core in question.
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Major General Ronald Johnson said children of service men and women attend between six and nine different schools during their elementary years. He says before 45 states agreed to adopt the Common Core, that was a hardship for children in military families.
“A student could master the skills and knowledge to progress from the fifth grade to the sixth grade in one state, for example, and then find himself far behind his or her classmates when they started sixth grade at a new school in a new state,” he said.
In addition, Major General David Bockel said many Georgia high school graduates aren’t qualified for military service.
“Those who do graduate and try to join the military, 25% can’t score high enough on the military entrance exam for math, literacy and problem-solving to be able to enlist,” Bockel said.
Having more rigorous standards could help address the skills gap, he said.
The group is worried about Senate Bill 167. The legislation calls for a comprehensive review of the Common Core. It also prevents Georgia from adopting other national standards or tests and puts strict limits on data collection.
The group plans to present three amendments to the bill during Wednesday’s House Education Committee hearing. The amendments seek to clarify the bill’s data collection provisions.
The retired admirals and generals are part of a national security non-profit group called Mission: Readiness. The group released a recent report on the Common Core available here.
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