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NATIONAL EDUCATION, STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS- WHEN DID THIS MOVEMENT BEGIN?

* There has been a national push to "nationalize education" since the early 1920's in this country. The "national standard"s movement really took off in the early 1990's, under the Clinton Administration, where this movement really started "gaining steam." During this time, unconstitutional, executive orders were written called the "Workforce Invenstment Act (1998) and the Educate America Act" (1994) in support of President Clinton's "Goals 2000" program.

The Workforce Investment Act's goal was to "Merge Factory with Schools." Under the Educate America Act, President Clinton pushed "national education standards and assessments" which the states rejected. However, "Workforce Planning Boards" were created and appointed by the Governors in the states. Arizona created these boards and they were called the P-20 Readiness Council by an Executive Order (EO 2005-19) and (EO 2005-26), created by former Governor Janet Napalitano (P- stands for Preschool and 20- age of the student through college). Current Governor Janet Brewer replaced this P-20 Readiness Council in 2011 with the "AZ Ready Education Exchange Council" by an Executive Order (EO 2011-08) which still exists today. Arizona's Ready Exchange Council Members are appointed by the Governor in our state and none of them are elected except for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Diane Douglas! Planned economies do not work- we cannot match students to a particular career path! This goes against the "free enterprise" system as well that Americans have come to enjoy!

Again, the states are jumping through hoops for "federal education" mandates which are unconstitutional. The federal government does not have the "enumerated powers," per the US Constitution, to dicate education programs, standards, assessments, workforce planning boards, school-to-work-programs, etc. These are all unconstitutional! We as states need to "nullify" their actions and restore our "states rights" and "protect our state sovereignty!"

COMMON CORE DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOL-TO-WORK BACKGROUND VIDEOS

* The Development of Common Core, Explained by Michael Chapman.

* EDUCATION- UN Agenda 21: SUSTAINABLY DEVELOPMENT MANIPULATION SERIES 1-6: Visit our videos tab here for these 6 videos.

WHAT DOES COLLEGE READINESS MEAN??

Jason Zimba, one of the three main Common Core Math standards writers described "college readiness" by stating: "We have agreement to the extent that it's a fuzzy definition, that the minimally college-ready student is a student who passed Algebra II." The only math covered under the Common Core Standards, at the high school level, aside from a snippet on trigonometry, is material from Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry. Moreover, the Algebra II component does not describe a complete course. Zimba continues by saying, "In my original remarks, I didn't make that point strongly enough or signal the agreement that we have on this- the definition of college readiness. I think it's a fair critique that it's a minimal definition of college readiness." Watch these two short videos from Jason Zimba:

* Lead Common Core Math Writer, Jason Zimba, calls Common Core's "college readiness" definition "a fuzzy definition" and is a minimal requirement for students to pass up to a course in Algebra II.

* Lead Common Core Math Writer, Jason Zimba, admits Common Core Math standards will not prepare our students for a 4-yr college in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

* Dr. William McCallum, University of Arizona (UoA) math professor and another lead writer of the Common Core Math Standards, admitted in January 2010, that the Common Core Math standards are "not too high by international comparison" and "we should expect our children to go beyond this level"..."I completely agree this is not a level that we should aspire to. The level that was set at the college and career ready document was not based on university admission requirements but was based on data about what students actually do, how well they succeed if they go to a certain level of mathematics" [which is only up to Algebra II under the Common Core Standards]! That would not prepare our children for a college nor a career in STEM!

WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE "COLLEGE AND WORK READY?"

Marc Tucker's organization, The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), did a study on "What does it really mean to be College and Work Ready?- The Mathematics and English Literacy required of First Year Community College Students." In the "Key Findings" for Mathematics in this report, "it shows that many college programs demand little or no mathematics, and the mathematics that is needed is mostly middle school mathematics. Algebra II is not a prerequisite for success in community college or most careers; high schools should abandon [this] requirement that all high school students [should] take it." In the "Key Findings" for English in this report, it states "Most community college tests involve little complex thinking- and no writing. Industry courses rarely require students to do the kind of writing required of workers in the industry for which they are training. Reading that is required demands little more than searching for basic facts. College instructors reduce material in the textbooks to Power Points, videos and flash cards" I highly suggest you read this full report on "What does it really mean to be College and Work Ready?" in the Community Colleges.

GET INVOLVED

If you would like to Become a member of the "Arizonans Against Common Core" team and help us educate Arizona residents about Common Core, please e-mail Our website coordinator at AZSchoolChoice at cox.net