The first view about the controversial Common Core Standards comes from state superintendent of public instruction Tony Evers:

Wisconsin is in the midst of legislative hearings on the Common Core State Standards. During the first hearing on Oct. 3 in Madison, I shared an anecdote from a teacher in a small northern Wisconsin school district. She wrote, “Thank you so much for your strong stand on the Common Core. I see how our math classes have changed for the better — really making students think! Keep up the good work.”

This e-mail sums up why I adopted the Common Core State Standards for Wisconsin in June of 2010. The Common Core State Standards are a vast improvement over our prior standards and advanced the work we began on standards revision in 2007. Simply, they move Wisconsin forward. The Common Core State Standards are a set of expectations in English language arts and mathematics for what students should know and be able to do in every grade. Already, these standards are challenging Wisconsin public school students to learn at higher levels in the critical areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. The Common Core State Standards are rigorous, clear, and require a deeper grasp of key subject-area concepts; they are benchmarked to the highest U.S. state and international standards to ensure students are ready to succeed in college and careers; and they are aligned to the expectations of higher education and employers.

Contrary to what some may say, adoption of the Common Core State Standards did not usher in more testing or data collection. We haven’t been forced by or received any more money from the federal government to adopt the Common Core State Standards. And, Wisconsin’s local control is safe. A district’s curriculum, text book adoption, and instructional choices all stay at the local level, just as they’ve always been. Students who need additional support, or children with gifts and special talents, will receive instruction that meets their unique needs, just like before. …

The Common Core State Standards are a pivotal part of the work of hundreds of educators, policy makers, and parents to transform education in Wisconsin, strengthen our public schools, and ensure that every child graduates college and career ready. Without the foundation of strong academic standards, all of our other efforts around improved assessment, better accountability and educator effectiveness, and stronger early literacy will fall apart.

This opinion piece demonstrates first that Evers is not an educator; he is a politician. (And his PR machine is paid for by us taxpayers, by the way.) It also demonstrates why the biggest failure of Wisconsin conservatives is their failure to elect a superintendent of public instruction who is not beholden to the education establishment.

I find it interesting that Evers can quote a teacher (not surprising, since DPI is a bought-and-paid-for subsidiary of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, which unfortunately remains the statewide teacher union), but can’t quote a parent about how great Common Core is. And as for his claim about local control, well, ask a school board member about that.

Anyway, Evers’ view is one view. Here’s another, from Freedom Outpost:

The state of Wisconsin has held three out of four public hearings on Common Core Standards. State Superintendent Tony Evers must be feeling the heat because he offered legislators a veiled threat that any rejection of Common Core Standards may be taken to the Supreme Court. This threat outrages citizens across the state who are trying to protect their right to exercise local control of schools.

Kim Simac, Wisconsin State Director for Concerned Women for America, Chairperson for Northwoods Patriots, and one of the major community organizers in northern Wisconsin, stated, “Superintendent Evers’ threat to jump directly to the Wisconsin Supreme Court should any legislation or decision be made to opt out of CCSS exposes his lack of confidence in the standards themselves. Those supporters of CCSS should have an arsenal of evidence that proves excellence and superiority in the product. Obviously they do not.”

Wisconsinites opposed to Common Core will not allow Superintendent Evers to blame conservative Legislators for the tax dollars to be wasted on any legal action intended to undermine Wisconsin’s statute regarding local control of schools or intended to render irrelevant the concerns expressed by citizens. Sondra Maanum, Chair of the Barron County Republican Party, explained that “our legislators were elected to defend and protect the state constitution and our state laws. If Tony Evers thinks he is going to use our tax dollars to fight us, he better be well prepared for the consequences.” …

“Evers’ threat is predicated on the platform of using the federal government, through the Supreme Court, to force upon a state and its people, a federal mandate in education.  This is as totalitarian a prospect as any yet suggested,” stated Mr. Scholl. Scholl, Maanum, and Simac represent many Wisconsinites who believe that the veiled threat made by Superintendent Evers is a blatant abuse of federal power by a state official. Scholl explained that using federal power to force a curriculum that is formulated and shaped precisely to any forced standard leading to dictated outcomes is an intolerable challenge to individual liberty and the sovereignty of states.

It is essential that those who oppose Common Core be willing to provide solutions, to promote funding for those solutions, and to support legislators who are willing to represent what is best for the children of Wisconsin. The solutions most often recommended by citizens include immediate implementation of the standards used in Massachusetts before they adopted Common Core. Massachusetts students had excelled in math, science, English, and reading for years before they adopted Common Core Standards.

“Grassroots will be certain to work hard for legislators who recognize the perilous path Common Core Standards present” promised Kim Simac. “I know I will be spending my efforts engaging hard-working activists who will pound the doors and give 100% for legislators who will stand up to support Wisconsin state rights.”

As President of Advocates for Academic Freedom, I have traveled the state discussing Common Core, our focus has been upon solutions and funding for those solutions. Without exception, my audiences have expressed a willingness to support spending some of our state surplus to purchase math text books that are not aligned with Common Core, sets of grammar books for each English classroom, and reading materials that focus upon decoding skills. These audiences are insulted and angered by the thought of using their tax dollars and the legal system to circumvent local control of schools and to silence the public.

According to Sondra Maanum, “Wisconsinites hope Governor Walker and the legislature will put in place some oversight to prevent the DPI from circumventing local control of schools in the future.”

Wisconsinites are defending their right to control local schools. They have witnessed the challenging fight to prevent federal overreach when a powerful state department of education intervenes. Citizens do not want precedence established that would undermine state statutes which guarantee local control of schools.

Superintendent Evers is abusing his power and ignoring state statutes.

It is also interesting (and mentioned by neither Evers nor Freedom Outpost) that state students have always done well in academic comparisons — for instance, pre-college testing — to other states well before I, Evers, enacted Common Core in 2010.

Truth be told, I’m not sure what to think about Common Core, beyond the fact that reading and math are not the only important academic subjects. This state’s schools are overrated (though certainly not underfunded), so improving student performance for an increasingly competitive world is important. Is Common Core the best way to do that?