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The statement from Gov. Bobby Jindal on Common Core education standards was short, but it sent waves of disappointment to many who support higher standards, as it looked like the governor was finally caving in to the groups who want to end Common Core in Louisiana.
When you look closely, it's really hard to tell just what it actually means.
"We support rigor and high academic standards ..."
That's what Common Core does. It's a series of internationally benchmarked standards that promote critical thinking and problem solving skills.
"What we do not support is federal, one-size-fits-all testing that potentially breaches student privacy."
We don't either, but that doesn't describe the testing in Louisiana. The PARCC test was developed by a consortium of states that included Louisiana.
It's much less "one-size-fits-all" than the ACT test, which Louisiana high school students take now, or the Iowa Tests that Louisiana students took for years.
And it's hard to see how the PARCC test could potentially breach student privacy any more than any of the tests Louisiana has administered for years. We have state and federal privacy laws and every entity has to follow them.
"We have concerns with Common Core and PARCC and that's why we asked the state education board and legislators to address these issues."
It would be helpful to know specifically what those concerns are. Unfortunately, not knowing has opened the door to legislators introducing a wide array of bills that would gut the standards, delay their implementation and require us to develop new standards and new tests at a cost of tens of millions of dollars to the state. And why? Just so we can say we did it?
The truth is, Louisiana is at a critical juncture. Students need to know more and be able to do more to succeed in the workforce and in their careers. And the states, on their own, figured out that to do that we need to raise academic standards and develop next-generation tests to ensure our kids are learning the skills they need to prosper.
Still, there's no question that the Common Core standards and the new, more sophisticated assessments that go along with them, have created controversy in some circles. Mostly, it seems to be driven by a fear of an unknown.
But at the same time, it's important to note Common Core has received strong support from the state's leading business organizations, chambers of commerce, civic groups, higher education leaders and many educators. There's a disconnect, to be sure, but it's one we need to overcome.
That's why this is a time when our leaders really need to step up, lead and set the politics aside. This is a moment where they need to have vision and think about what's best for our children. There will always be opportunities to dabble in politics.
But we don't often have the chance to take definitive actions that will help create a better future for our state. We have one now and it would be a shame if we screw it up.