Conservative 'Manifesto' Blasts Shared Curriculum,Tests

A group made up largely of conservatives has issued a "manifesto" arguing against development of shared curriculum and tests for the common standards.

The manifesto, issued today and signed by more than 100 leaders in education, business, and politics, is a response to a document issued in March by the Albert Shanker Institute, which argued for common curriculum for the standards. It's also a response to the U.S. Department of Education's $360 million investment in the development of assessments for the common standards. That money was awarded to two big consortia of states as part of the federal government's Race to the Top competition.

The newest entry into the debate about common standards and assessments was organized by Williamson M. Evers, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution; Jay P. Greene and Sandra Stotsky, both professors at the University of Arkansas; Greg Forster, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Educational Choice, and Ze'ev Wurman, a former U.S. Department of Education official who has worked on California's standards and tests in math. All have been critical of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which has led to adoption of a new set of shared learning guidelines in math and English/language arts by all but six states.

Calling itself a "counter-manifesto," the document issued today argues that shared curriculum and tests will stifle innovation, threaten local and state control of education decisions, and standardize learning for students with diverse needs. It also argues that shared curriculum and tests are prohibited by federal law.

more . . . http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/05/conservative_manifesto_blasts.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1