Studies have consistently shown that Common Core is hurting student performance in schools, and Alabama voters have long urged the state legislature to do away with the burdensome learning standards. Now, State Rep. Barry Moore (R- Enterprise) has begun taking action to fully repeal Common Core.
This week, Rep. Moore introduced House Bill 558, which would repeal Common Core, also known as the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards (ACCRS). The bill would return student curriculum to pre-ACCRS guidelines, and protects local control by preventing state officials from adopting other national standards in the future.
Moore points to reports from the National Assessment of Education Progress, the 11th grade ACT college entrance test, and the Common Core-aligned ACT Aspire assessments, which all reflect declining performance by Alabama students. From the time immediately preceding Common Core’s implementation until now, the state has plummeted from 25th to 50th in some education rankings.
“It’s a failed social experiment,” Rep. Moore said. “It’s not about education, it’s about indoctrination.”
Rep. Moore says one of his primary motivations for wanting returning to pre-Common Core standards is the toll it’s taken on his own children, who began struggling over subjects they excelled in prior to the introduction of Common Core. Additionally, he noticed that the subject material was becoming increasingly liberal in nature.
“Without question, almost everything that we read was left-wing,” Rep. Moore said in an interview. “It was from a standpoint of redistribution of wealth. If one fellow had 14 coins and one had two coins, it was almost like it was bad that one had made 14 coins. Some of the reading comprehension paragraphs were about other liberal issues like global warming.”
“It should be about education,” he added. “We don’t need to be teaching our kids social things. We don’t need to be teaching them religion. We don’t need to be teaching them anything but the basics they need. Let the parents do the job that they were called to do and quit letting government do it.”
The Enterprise lawmaker says that many of his colleagues in the State House agree that Common Core needs to be addressed. He feels the current political climate and support from President Trump- who has remained outspoken against Common Core- presents a positive opportunity.
“Now that the president is looking at the repeal, I feel like it’s time for us in Alabama to take back control over how we choose to educate our kids,” Moore said.
House Bill 558 now awaits action in the House Education Committee.
