The state of Iowa will be withdrawing from a multi-state testing consortium to help states fully implement testing for the Common Core State Standards, the Associated Press reported.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (AP)
Iowa had implemented much of Common Core into its “Iowa Core” education standards, working with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium on assessments to measure students’ progress.
Iowa is not going as far as other states that have repealed the standards outright, only terminating its membership in the consortium.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said a state task force is examining the needs for Iowa testing and will have recommendations ready in January 2015, the AP reported. Because of this work, Branstad said, he won’t continue in the consortium.
Iowa Department of Education spokeswoman Staci Hupp said the withdrawal is about giving the task force a chance to finish its review before committing to a new test.
“The reason for dropping our membership is we are still in the process of a review,” Hupp told TheBlaze. “Smarter Balanced remained on the menu of options considered by the task force.”
The decision by the state to withdraw from the consortium was first reported by the website Caffeinated Thoughts.
Common Core was developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and initially adopted by 44 states and the District of Columbia.
Because the Obama administration’s Education Department tied “Race to the Top” grants with adopting the standards, many conservatives argue it essentially amounts to a national curriculum. Conservatives have found an unusual ally in many states with teachers unions, who also oppose the standards.
