StateImpact is answering reader-submitted questions about the Common Core, a new set of expectations for what students should know and be able to do in math and English at each grade level. Ohio is one of 45 states that have fully adopted the Common Core.Today, we answer a Core Question from an audience member at the WVIZ/PBS ideastream Education panel discussion on the Common Core earlier this fall.The audience member sent us a question addressed to state Rep. Andy Thompson, a Republican from Marietta who has introduced a bill that would void Ohio's adoption of the Common Core:Rep. Thompson, what does your plan include for districts that have invested in the Common Core and begun the transition?Many Ohio school districts are already teaching to the new Common Core standards.[related_content align="right"]When we asked Thompson what would happen to those districts if his bill passes, he didn't have a direct answer. But he did say that individual school districts should be the ones to decide what happens in their classrooms.“I don’t want the state saying ‘you’re going to do this and then we’ve got the assessments to measure it,’” he said. “I want latitude. I want local control. And local control dictates that if they think Common Core is wonderful, then you go ahead and do Common Core.”And Thompson reiterated that school districts should decide what standards work for them, even if that means using the Common Core.“If a district wants to keep those standards, they can stick with them,” he said.
What do you want to know about how the new Common Core education standards will affect Ohio schools? Email us at ohio@stateimpact.org. You can also send us a message on Twitter or Facebook.Please tell us if you’re a parent, teacher, principal, policymaker or concerned citizen. We’ll find answers and share them here at StateImpact Ohio.