Voters Support Common Core and Aligned Assessments

National survey results released Friday by Achieve, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education reform organization, show strong voter support for Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Although a majority of those polled (two-thirds) had heard “nothing” or “not too much” about the Common Core, awareness has increased over time.

Perhaps most revealing is the number of people said they favored the Common Core implementation after being read a short description: an astounding 69%.

With 66% favoring new end-of-year tests aligned with the Common Core, (31% “strongly favoring”), voters also said they value testing and teacher evaluations, but with 81% believing consequences tied to test results should only come after an adjustment period, over half favoring a one or two years.

What does this mean for Massachusetts? With implementation of curriculum frameworks that include CCSS slowly underway over the last two years, and a two-year trial period for PARCC assessments, it means Massachusetts is hitting the mark. After the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to include CCSS in the curriculum frameworks in 2010, Massachusetts will have taken a five-year look at new standards and assessments before the Board votes again on whether or not PARCC is worthy of replacing MCAS.

It also means that general voter support for CCSS is nearly matching support by Massachusetts math, English language arts, science, and/or social studies teachers, 70% of whom are “enthusiastic”  about using the standards in their classrooms.

The poll results from Achieve are telling. People are more concerned about the basic facts of Common Core State Standards, not the scare tactics and “noise” from opponents. Voters and teachers alike want the same for students in public schools: preparedness for the world beyond high school, whether it is college or career.