According to the annual PACE/USC Rossier School of Education poll, which questioned more than 1,000 California voters, residents of the state are having second thoughts about the Common Core State Standards.
The poll revealed that only 32 percent of respondents supported the implementation of the Common Core Standards, while 42 percent opposed it. What’s interesting is that these numbers are a complete reversal from last year’s findings, showing that voters are changing their minds about the validity of the Common Core Standards.
As we’ve all heard, the Common Core Standards set expectations for deeper learning by grade level; however, as I’ve written extensively in my blogs, mandating learning objectives nationwide is not the way to improve student performance. If students have no interest in learning currently, how will new and higher benchmarks improve student motivation?
The key to better outcomes, higher student performance, increased student responsibility, and decreased student discipline issues is to tap into the students’ internal motivation to want to learn. My book, Discipline Without Stress, explains how to do this.
