Stop spreading a false narrative about public education

Jamaal Bowman is the principal of the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle school in the Bronx.  The school’s website says that the mission of the school is to graduate “self-aware, hard-working and socially responsible 21st-century learners.” Cornerstone Academy’s curriculum, based on the Common Core State Standards, focuses on improving the “creative, critical, collaborative and higher-order thinking skills” of students.

 

Implementation of the standards and aligned testing in New York was widely described as a mess, and 20 percent of students across the state refused to take the Core tests this past spring as a protest. Cuomo took notice and in September, he created a task force to review the Common Core in his state. The New York Times just reported that Cuomo, a staunch advocate of making student standardized test scores up to 50 percent of teacher evaluations, may be ready to move away from that stance (which would be a significant change) and is awaiting the task force’s conclusions. (It could happen but don’t hold your breath.)