As reported by Stateline, a publication of the Pew Charitable Trusts, in the past year, criticism over the Common Core has ramped up in state legislatures across the country.

As of May 15, lawmakers introduced over 340 bills in 46 states—every state that had had a regular legislative session this year— that addressed college- and career-readiness education standards, including the Common Core.

. . . About a half dozen governors have weighed in since last year with executive orders on the issue, generally reasserting the rights of states to determine their own education standards.

. . . State lawmakers also spent a lot of time discussing related legislation sparked by the standards. Bills inspired by the Common Core touched on student data privacy, how to assess student learning, professional development for teachers, and how, in the future, states should decide on education standards.

The Common Core “really dominated the conversation, mood and the ability of the legislatures to discuss other issues,” said Michelle Exstrom, who focuses on education policy for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Maryland, the General Assembly debated several bills relating to Common Core, and the use of student assessments associated with Common Core in evaluating teach performance. For more information, see our previous posts, Senate Votes to Delay New Teacher Evaluations, Legislators Consider When to Use Student Assessments in Teacher Evaluations.

For more information on the response to Common Core in legislatures across the country, see the full story from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Common Core will be the topic of the education session at MACo’s Summer Conference.  For more information, and to register, click here.