With all the recent uproar over the Common Core Standards - higher education - for the most part has remained quiet. But Tuesday that changed as 200-colleges in 33-states announced the new Higher Education for Higher Standards Coalition.
Higher Ed leaders want to work to defend the highly criticized standards. Higher education leaders say too many students are entering college unprepared.
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher is leading the coalition.
“These standards are good for our students, our states, and our country,” said Chancellor Zimpher. "We want to assure that we are driving high school graduation."
Chancellor Zimpher said too many universities are essentially teaching twice to get students up to speed when they arrive. She was joined the Tennessee Board of Regents and vice chair of NASH, John Morgan.
“Remediation slows down student progress and, in some cases, puts a halt to the college experience,” said John Morgan, chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents and vice chair of NASH. “Colleges and universities have been working hard to address remediation challenges. We believe the Common Core standards, with their focus on critical thinking and problem solving, can help improve student success.”
SUNY prepares about five-thousand future educators each year. But Zimpher noted their graduates haven't had enough time to learn the standards.
"And I want to underscore, that this coalition is not pointing fingers at K-12. We are joining K-12, and very much appreciate that the standards themselves were mapped backwards from what you need to be successful in college to what our teachers in our elementary and secondary schools are teaching," said Chancellor Zimpher.
In New York State the recently past budget calls for a series of recommendations to improve implementing. The new law includes banning standardized tests for young children, preventing schools from using common core testing scores as the only reason for moving up an elementary student. The new law also calls for keeping a student's test results private.
All SUNY schools -- including the University at Buffalo -- make up this new coalition. UB president Satish Tripathi was not available for a WBFO interview, but issued a written statement.
“It is important that higher education leaders nationwide join together to support strengthening K-12 standards and curriculum in our states,” said Tripathi. “Strengthening the preparation of U.S. K-12 students will help them succeed on our nation’s college campuses, as well as prepare them for successful lives and careers after they graduate from college.”
