The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Pensylvania State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards. Actually report isn't entirely accurate as you will see.
As expected, the state Board of Education on Thursday adopted a more rigorous curriculum known nationally as the Common Core Standards.
The board also voted to require students to pass the Keystone Exams before they graduate from high school.
The Common Core Standards in English, arts and mathematics will take effect next school year. More than 40 states have adopted or are considering some version of Common Core, which has generated controversy elsewhere but largely escaped opposition here.
The class of 2017 will be required to pass three Keystone Exams: algebra I, biology and literature; the class of 2019 will be required to pass four: algebra I, biology, literature and composition; and the class of 2020 and beyond will be required to pass five: algebra I, biology, literature, composition, and civics and government.
So they are jettisoning their standards for mediocrity along with high stakes testing? Brilliant! With everything that has come out about the Common Core I just don't see how you can even remotely defend late adoption of them. Well, you can always use the talking points. It seems like they took this straight from a press release. Saying that the standards are “more rigorous” is a matter of opinion, not objective fact. Way to play spin machine. This isn't news, it is propaganda.