Testimony in support of Common Core
Good morning Chairman Huffman, distinguished members of the House Rules and Reference Committee, and guests.
I am Barbie Estrada, an educator from Cleveland Heights, Ohio and a member of StudentsFirst. I am here in support of Common Core Standards for Ohio. These new standards address necessary changes that our students need to thrive in a 21st century economy after graduation.
I want to thank the committee for allowing me the opportunity to address my concerns. I believe that Common Core is a step in the right direction for Ohio’s students and families.
Under our current system, almost half the students who graduate high school and go on to college are in need of remedial support. Common Core is a real opportunity for our students to develop genuine competency in reading and math.Teachers are excited that they can now teach for depth and not have to emphasize rote memorization of facts and problems that are divorced from the real world.Common Core standards will help Ohio kids succeed far beyond high school.
A Fordham Institute study showed that seven out of ten Ohio district superintendents believe the Common Core State Standards will lead to “fundamental improvement” in Ohio’s K-12 education. These standards support educational reform that Ohio needs.
My own experience supports a casefor Common Core.
In my professional endeavors, I work with students after school and during the summer to build the critical reading, math and study skills that will make them successful students and citizens in the wide world we live in.Although I work with students of all ages, I am particularly drawn to the memory of a 21-year-old whose father called my facility in late winter 2014 because his son started talking about dropping out of college.Since graduating high school, the son spent several years taking remedial and general education courses at a local community college.When he finally enrolled in a four-year institution, an endeavor he was proud of, he was quick to realize that he lacked the fundamental skills needed to perform academically, especially in mid-level courses.He felt frustrated and defeated and was ready to give up.In just his second semester, he was drowning.When we performed an evaluation to better understand his academic needs, we alarmingly found that he had a middle school sight word reading level and gaps in math going all the way back to fourth grade.His struggles were not a question of potential or hard work.He had a severe skill deficit because his K-12 education left him unprepared for what lay beyond high school.This is a tragic case and sadly not the only one of its kind that has come through the doors of my tutoring center looking for help.
This is why I urge you to oppose this bill. Ohio’s students should have highest quality education that is possible and this calls for high standards for all students. Repealing Common Core will set back our students even further. This is about whether or not we want all, not just some, of our students to be college or career ready by the time they graduate high school.
Ohio is currently in its third year of implementation and our school districts have spent incredible amounts of time and resources to prepare for the transition. It would be wrong to turn back now when we have spent so much time and money on implementation.
I thank you for taking the time to listen to my concerns.I hope you vote against this legislation and for the future of our students. The Common Core State Standards move our education system one step closer towards a quality education for every student in Ohio.