Though the developers and supporters of the Common Core standards have repeatedly said the purpose of the controversial education initiative is to close the achievement gap between low-income black and Hispanic and white middle-class students, an online Hispanic publication doubts that may happen.
John Benson of Hispanic media site Voxxi, writes, “If some early reports on the controversial Common Core Standards are an indication, Hispanic students in the U.S. are falling behind on the very curriculum that was intended to help them achieve higher proficiency in school.”
Voxxi cites the New York State report of its recent Common Core-aligned test scores that show only 23 percent of Latinos are proficient in math, while 19 percent are proficient in English.
âKentucky is the other state that is utilizing the Common Core Standards, but results from last yearâs school year arenât yet available,â states Voxxi. âExpectations are the achievement gap between Latinos and whites will remain high.â
However, according to Peggy McLeod, National Council of La Raza deputy vice president of Education and Workforce Development, the anticipated effects of the Common Core on closing the achievement gap are long-term and cannot be judged by current scores on Common Core-aligned tests.
âItâs not the Common Core theyâre having issues with, itâs the implementation of the Common Core,â McLeod told Voxxi. âThe standards are good, theyâre high standards. If implemented correctly, kids will be college and career ready. Itâs just a matter of providing a robust implementation and strategies specific to Latino kids who might need additional language support.â
âWhen you look at performance, it will all even out if districts and schools provide appropriate services and provide good high-quality instruction,â McLeod continued. âYou canât put responsibility on Latino kids or their parents.â
According to Common Core patron Bill Gates and the so-called âarchitectâ of Common Core David Coleman, the true purpose of the nationalized standards is to correct what is viewed by liberal political, education, and corporate elitists as societal injustices largely toward Hispanic and black students.
As Breitbart News reported in June, an interview with the Washington Post summarized how Bill Gates pulled off the very âswift Common Core revolution.â The Microsoft founder stated, âThe country as a whole has a huge problem that low-income kids get less good education than suburban kids get⌠and that is a huge challenge.â
Gatesâ statement underscored the notion that the Common Core standards initiative is a social engineering project that places education standards and testing ahead of parental and family influences as the major cause of poor student performance in low-income and minority communities.
LaRazaâs McLeodâs statement, âYou canât put responsibility on Latino kids or their parents,â counters the notion of self-responsibility.
Similarly Coleman, now the College Board president, praised the collection of student data via the Common Core standards initiative at a conference in 2013, as a vehicle to reach the âlow-hanging fruit,â or low-income and Latino students.