Gov. Cuomo: 'Common Core in New York Is Not Working'

New York’s Democratic governor said today that Common Core is not working for his state, and “a comprehensive review” of school standards will be launched “to address local concerns.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he agrees with “the goal of Common Core Standards,” but “I believe the implementation by the State Education Department (SED) has been deeply flawed. The more time goes on, the more I am convinced of this position.”

“A growing chorus of experts have questioned the intelligence of SED’s Common Core program and objective educators across the state have found the implementation problematic, to say the least,” Cuomo said in a statement. “The new Commissioner of Education has inherited this problem and I understand has been meeting with parents, educators and students, and has heard the same concerns. Recently, SED has made comments about organized efforts to have parents choose to opt out of standardized tests. While I understand the issue and SED’s valid concern, I sympathize with the frustration of the parents.”

New York recently released its Common Core test scores for the third year, and noted that the percentage of students opting out of the testing shot up to 20 percent this past spring.

“We must have standards for New York’s students, but those standards will only work if people – especially parents – have faith in them and in their ability to educate our children. The current Common Core program does not do that. It must,” Cuomo said.

“The fact is that the current Common Core program in New York is not working, and must be fixed. To that end, the time has come for a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Common Core Standards, curriculum, guidance and tests in order to address local concerns. I am taking this action not because I don’t believe in standards, but because I do.”

Cuomo said he’ll ask a “representative group” from the Education Commission “including education experts, teachers, parents” to “provide recommendations” in time for his State of the State Address in January.