Flanked by other Democratic governors in front of the White House, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie said there is no argument about the Common Core state education standards themselves.
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan lead fellow Democratic governors as they walk from the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, to meet with the media following a meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
“I think it's a misstatement to say there's an argument over Common Core standards because they were developed with teachers, with educational organizations, they were developed with governors and boards of education across the country,” Abercrombie told TheBlaze. “The argument is about implementation.”
Abercrombie was part of a delegation of 13 Democratic governors who met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden Friday. They are in Washington as part of the Democratic Governors Association meeting, just before the opening of the National Governors Association meeting.
Common Core education standards are K-12 standards for math and English developed by the National Governors Association and adopted by 45 states and Washington, D.C. Common Core has been the subject of heated controversy, including from critics who say it amounts to a national curriculum. The National Education Association levied criticism against the standards this week, and several states have been taking another look at their implementation.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate have proposed resolutions criticizing Common Core, which the Obama administration has tied to federal education grants.
Abercrombie blamed Congress for the states' problems in implementing the program.
“What we need is to stop foot-dragging by the Congress and help us across the entire spectrum of preschool, right on through to vocational technical education and reeducation, refocusing our education establishment,” Abercrombie said, speaking after the meeting. “If you don't have Common Core standards, you're not going to be able to compete in the real world of the 21st century. We need support for implementation across the board.”
