New K-12 education standards clear hurdle despite citizen opposition

Despite opposition from some of his once-staunch backers, Gov. Mike Pence wholeheartedly endorsed a new set of Indiana K-12 academic standards Monday that likely will replace the controversial Common Core this year.

But opponents labeled the new standards merely a re-branding of Common Core and at times heckled Pence and others during a meeting of the Indiana Education Roundtable.

Pence and other members of the roundtable voted overwhelmingly to endorse a final draft of math and English guidelines over loud protests from about 200 people who rallied before the hearing and accused Pence of turning his back on a promise to oversee the creation of "uncommonly high" standards.

Pence said the proposal, which for the first time includes high-level math such as calculus and trigonometry, raises the bar on previous state standards and will help reduce remediation for students when they reach college.

"As the first state to withdraw from Common Core, Indiana had a unique responsibility to create new, high standards in an open and serious process that would serve our children and strengthen our schools," Pence said during the meeting. "I have long believed that education is a state and local function, and that decisions about our schools should be made closest to the parents and communities that depend upon them.

"It was for that reason that I strongly supported efforts to have Indiana withdraw from the national education standards and engage in this unprecedented, comprehensive and transparent process to rewrite Indiana's academic standards."

The roundtable, co-chaired by Pence and Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, voted 21-2 in favor of new English standards and 21-3 for new math standards. The proposals now head to the State Board of Education for a final vote Monday.

Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, voted no on both sets of standards. Kruse, who voted to approve Common Core in 2010 as a roundtable member but since supported legislation to void it, did not speak during the hearing and declined to comment afterward.

Common Core was created in 2009 by a bipartisan initiative of the National Governors Association and state education superintendents to make a single, national set of "college and career ready" outcomes for students.

Meanwhile, it has ignited a firestorm of partisan barbs, viewed by many conservatives as a national takeover and by some liberals as an attack on teacher autonomy.

Legislation passed last year ordered a "pause" on the implementation of Common Core and required the State Board of Education to adopt new standards by July 1. Pence signed a law last month that also required new standards to be adopted by July 1.

Educators and pundits have criticized an earlier draft of the Indiana standards as taking too much from Common Core and not offering additional rigor and clarity. During the rally at the Statehouse, professor Terrence Moore of Hillsdale College said if the proposed standards were a paper he was grading, he would give them an "F" and call it plagiarism.

"They want us to believe these are entirely new standards," said Moore, whom the state contracted for an earlier analysis of the draft.

But during the roundtable, none of the 24 members present discussed Common Core or asked how much the proposal drew from the national standards.

Pence even took a jab at some of the national critics who have blasted the proposed guidelines.

"To those who would have preferred that we deferred more to out-of-state experts from Washington, D.C., or either coast, I ask: Isn't that the kind of elitist thinking that got us national standards in the first place?" he said.

Most roundtable members who spoke said they supported the guidelines and asked the state to help schools and teachers transition their curriculum for the next school year.

Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Wendy Robinson said she supported what state officials and educators created to replace Common Core but was more concerned how new standardized tests would be changed to meet the new standards. Others echoed Robinson's comments.

Indiana Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar persuaded the roundtable to require review of additional materials, such as reading lists, intended to be included with the standards.

"While the end result may not be perfect, the recommended standards are of very high quality and should be embraced so we can go about allowing teachers to properly prepare for the next school year," Brinegar said in a statement after the meeting. "It's time to put aside any criticisms and let educators do their jobs and to best prepare students for college, career and life."

But it is unlikely the opposition will stay quiet.

Before the roundtable met, more than 200 gathered at the Statehouse for the rally organized by Hoosiers Against Common Core. The group, including many parents and young children, cheered and clapped as several speakers urged them to continue objecting to Indiana's standards. After the rally, the group walked to the roundtable meeting.

Some jeered and shouted when Pence and other members of the roundtable and state staff spoke in favor of the new standards.

For instance, when Pence and others said the process of drafting the standards had been transparent, some opponents laughed openly and shouted "no."

Later, Heather Crossin, one of the organizers of Hoosiers Against Common Core, contended that the proposed set of standards is worse than Common Core.

"It contains more of what we didn't want and less of what we wanted," she said.

Call Star reporter Barb Berggoetz at (317) 444-6294. Follow her on Twitter: @barbberg.