Schools

Critics From Both Sides of Aisle Find Common Ground About Common Core

Republican, Democrat both urge NJ to go slowly on tougher standards and testing, but Christie administration proceeds with implementation.

By John Mooney (Courtesy of NJ Spotlight)

New Jersey's decision to implement the federal Common Core State Standards and to move on the new exams that are part of the package has never lacked critics, but it hasn't met with much outright resistance.

Until now.

Find out what's happening in New Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While still very much a minority voice, a collection of strange bedfellows is increasingly speaking up against New Jersey’s adoption of the new, more rigorous standards and testing. Wednesday, it was Steve Lonegan, the conservative Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, who held a press conference in front of the state Department of Education to decry the federal standards as another power grab by Washington.

While outnumbered by journalists, Lonegan was nonetheless joined by a half-dozen other conservative and Tea Party activists.

Find out what's happening in New Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“No one-size-fits-all model will serve these children, nor will it serve our nation,” Lonegan said. “We should not allow the federal government to take over our children’s lives.”

But questions are also coming from more liberal voices, too, as a bill is expected to unveiled today by state Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) calls for a task force to study the new standards and testing and to delay their imposition until the task force’s work is completed.

“I’m not saying it’s entirely the wrong path, but it does affect how we educate our children,” Van Drew said Wednesday night. “I’ve heard from enough corners that I want to ensure we at least take another look at this.”

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here