Rebimbas supports delaying, examining Common Core

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Rosa Rebimbas
Rosa Rebimbas

HARTFORD — State Rep. Rosa Rebimbas (R-70) joined her Republican colleagues this week on calling for Gov. Dannel Malloy and the state Department of Education to delay implementation of the Common Core teaching program and teacher evaluation process.

The legislators want it delayed until further study on the effectiveness and feasibility of the program can be performed and the discussion can be brought out into the public.

During a press conference in the Legislative Office Building the House Republican Caucus Education Committee questioned the timing and implementation of the Common Core curriculum across the state and called upon the legislature’s Education Committee to hold a public hearing on the Common Core.  

According to a press release issued by Rebimbas’ office, the committee highlighted problems regarding technology concerns with administering assessments under the Common Core and questioned the reliability and feasibility of linking student achievement scores on the Smarter Balanced standardized test system to teacher evaluations.

“Rushing to implement legislation that makes major changes to how our children learn, how our educator’s teach and how both students and educators are evaluated without first properly examining the pros and cons of the system is a recipe for disaster, and that’s what we’re seeing now,” Rebimbas said in the release.  “Connecticut’s Common Core program must be reevaluated with clearly vetted and well established guidelines.

Feedback from educators across the state has already pointed out several potential problems with the program, including implementation problems in terms of internet technology requirements for computers in order to take the tests, students struggling with keyboarding skills at young ages, and the sheer amount of new projects and initiatives being rolled out at the same time, the release stated.

Rebimbas added in the release, “To meet the Common Core requirements, teachers and administrators are asked to do many more hours of administrative work which takes them away from teaching and the work they now must do.”

Legislators also called for public hearings so the program and process can be fully vetted

On Tuesday, Malloy and legislative leaders sent a letter to the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council asking them to delay coupling the new evaluation system and the Common Core, according to ctnewsjunkie.com.