Just yesterday, Mississippi business leaders reaffirmed their support of Common Core State Standards, noting that when global and national businesses get ready to invest in a new plant location they want to be able to compare states on “common” measures of workforce quality and readiness. At the Mississippi Economic Council’s Capital Day event in Jackson, MEC President Blake Wilson stressed that Common Core is a top priority for the organization. See what the MEC has shared with its members about the Common Core here.
The Common Core State Standards are much more rigorous than Mississippi’s former standards. The learning curve for students and teachers is a steep one, but Mississippi schools are meeting the challenge head-on. Our students are up to the challenge – and their futures will be brighter when they are better prepared to be college and career ready.
We at The Parents’ Campaign support the full implementation of the Common Core State Standards and applaud the MEC for its endorsement of them.
There has been a good bit of misinformation circulated about the Common Core, some of which stems from confusion about the difference between standards and curriculum. Click here to read more about the Common Core State Standards, what they are, and what they aren’t.
The release of Education Week’s Quality Counts report today should be a wake-up call for Mississippi: it is essential that we implement the higher standards outlined in the Common Core – and provide the resources that schools need to implement them well – so that our children can compete well with their peers in other states. The Quality Counts annual survey ranks Mississippi 51st in national measures of achievement, behind all other states and the District of Columbia. While some areas of student performance have improved, others have remained stagnant or declined.
Our teachers and principals are working hard to turn around that dismal performance by ramping up instruction and helping students develop the analytical and critical thinking skills required by the Common Core. In fact, Mississippi’s embrace of Common Core helped us earn an “A” from Quality Counts for our work to improve standards.
It is not a coincidence that Mississippi received an “F” for achievement AND funding. Resources are essential to getting students the support they need to learn and thrive. Let’s aim for an “A” in funding on the next Quality Counts report. To get that “A,” lawmakers must fulfill their statutory obligation to adequately fund schools, and you and I must do our part to make sure that happens.
You can start by ordering a free “Fund MAEP” car magnet. (See the magnet here.) In just two days, we have received requests for thousands of magnets. Amanda is busy shipping them out every hour of the day and you can get on her mailing list by emailing your name, number of magnets requested, and shipping address to athreatt@msparentscampaign.org
