The Common Core Standards for public education; then PA’s voter ID law

Hour 1

When No Child Left Behind (NCLB) became law in 2001 it promised to improve public education by raising standards and establishing measurable goals for student progress.  While the law was praised for making schools more accountable, it was highly criticized for an over-focus on high-stakes testing which led to several serious cheating scandals.   The Obama administration has gradually dismantled NCLB by freeing states from meeting many of the law’s requirements and has replaced it with its own education initiative, Race to the Top, that rewards states for adopting national standards for what students should know and learn.  Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are among the 45 states (and the District of Columbia) to adopt the new Common Core Standards that set benchmarks for English and Math education aimed at making American students competitive in the global workplace.  What are the Common Core Standards and how will they change the classroom and the way students, teacher and principals are evaluated?  We’ve invited ANDREW PORTER, dean of the Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, to join us to explain this next wave of education reform. Then we’ll hear from JOHN MICEK from the Allentown Morning Call about the ruling on the legality of Pennsylvania’s voter ID law.

Listen to the mp3

Listen:
[audio: 081512_100630.mp3]