Common Core: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants new standards to eliminate vestiges of Core

Thyrie Bland
Updated

Florida's Republican governor plans to sign an executive order to rid Florida of the last vestiges of Common Core.

Common Core is a national education initiative that set academic standards for students in math and language arts. Florida adopted Common Core standards in 2010, then came up with an altered version of the initiative in 2014 and called it "Florida Standards."

"I think our standards will be much higher in many respects, but I think it will be standards that are reflective of what folks are looking for," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, announcing his plan Thursday in Cape Coral. "It will be more geared toward knowledge than maybe just teaching to a test."

DeSantis' plan would mark a bigger break with the national standards than Florida has made in the past.

Former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush was a big backer of Common Core, helping push the state to sign on. But under President Barack Obama's administration, adopting the standards became one way for a state to get federal money — and conservatives began to view the standards as federal overreach. Common Core also became synonymous with an increase in standardized testing.

One view: Bill Gates commends Common Core

Another view: Common Core is driving too many teachers from the profession

When Florida made changes to its state standards in 2014, many of them were minor, but politicians such as former Gov. Rick Scott were able to say Common Core was going away. Critics said the core of Common Core continued under a different name.

DeSantis said he decided to eliminate the remaining pieces of Common Core after he heard complaints when he was running for governor.

"With Common Core, a lot of people just didn't feel like anyone was listening to them," he said.

The governor said he has asked Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to spend the year coming up with authentic Florida-based standards. DeSantis also plans to require Corcoran to:

  • Find ways to increase the quality of instructional curriculum in Florida.

  • Suggest innovative ways to streamline testing in schools and make sure the testing is measuring success.

  • Identify ways to make civic education a priority in Florida.

The final plan would go before the Legislature for approval, DeSantis said.

Eliminating Common Core will make teachers' jobs easier, said Greg Adkins, superintendent in Lee County.

"Teachers have to teach rapidly across many standards and many areas of content in a single semester, a single year," he said. "This hopefully gets down to what's essential that a kid has to master and learn extremely well, so they will have that learning for the rest of their life."

Karen Effrem, executive director of the Florida Stop Common Core Coalition, said she is expecting a mixed reaction to the governor's plan.

"I think parents are going to be thrilled because they are finally feeling like, hopefully, their concerns are being addressed and not just a dog and pony show and rebranding like has happened over the last several years," she said.

Still, she said, some are worried Florida is abandoning high standards.

Follow Thyrie Bland on Twitter: @Thyrie

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Common Core: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants new standards to eliminate vestiges of Core