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Repealing Common Core Means Nothing If Oklahoma’s New Academic Standards Are Not Better than Common Core
 
Restore Oklahoma Public Education (now Reclaim Oklahoma Parent Empowerment) concluded a near five year odyssey dedicated to the task of repealing the Common Core State Standards in our state, when
the ink from Governor Fallin’s pen dried on 
HB3399 in June 2014.  As directed by the bill, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) was to immediately begin the process of creating new educational standards for English/Language Arts and Mathematics to replace the Common Core Standards adopted by the Oklahoma State Board of Education as directed by SB2033 in 2010. The final drafts of the new standards were to be completed by the OSDE in August of 2016 with copies presented to the Oklahoma legislature prior to the February start of
that year’s
 legislative session. Unfortunately, though the standards development process was begun immediately, it quickly became waylaid by
 2014 elections, which saw the selection of a new State Superintendent of Instruction after a contentious race. Formally installed as Superintendent in January 2015,
Joy Hofmeister’s
 Department of Education scrapped the work done by the previous administration and re-booted work on the new Oklahoma Education Standards process in February 2015 when the Oklahoma Standards Steering Committee (formed in September 2014) heard testimony from standards writing experts Dr. Sandra Stotsky and Dr. Lawrence Gray.  Dr. Stotsky 
is credited with developing the country’s strongest English/Language Arts standards
while serving as the Senior Associate Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education (1999-2003). Dr. Lawrence Gray, professor of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota, is credited with developing
the country’s strongest Mathematics standards (2003).
 In providing excerpts of the OAS reviews as follows, I will only outline the issues listed as concerns by the reviewers as those that have been praised do not need addressing.  Additionally, though there were documents including public feedback by education
‘stakeholders’
 linked to every draft, these were commonly one line comments that generally did not provide enough solid critique to be considered helpful to either the public at large or the Oklahoma Legislature, who must sign off on the new OAS.
 
FIRST DRAFT OAS - JUNE
Following the presentations of the standards experts, the Oklahoma process was begun in earnest with the first draft of the Oklahoma Academic Standards (OAS) released in June of 2015. Immediately, ROPE put out the call for anyone interested in reviewing the standards to do so. We asked for specific comments on the standards to be made in the blog comments and many did so, with the 
 of the standards. From Lorraine:
Oklahoma’s ‘standards’ are not clear, thus not clearly made accessible for a variety of
students.
Reviews for the first set of standards reviews were placed on the OSDE website. Though several sets of reviews were provided, none were really instructive excepting that of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. ROPE sought reviews of several teachers which were placed on the OSDE website. More substantial reviews from five different educators can be found here. One, concerning the Math OAS from Dr. James Milgram, Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University, was copied onto the ROPE blog. A commenter to the post simply says this,
 As disturbing as this article is, I find it almost comforting. Comforting to know that someone else out there AGREES WITH ME! The standards are poorly written.
The organization of that draft isn’t useful for what needs to be done to provide non
-Common Core standards. Right now, what you have is very close to being compatible with Common Core and a Common Core-based test. OK kids deserve better.
J.R. Wilson, one of the founders of  Truth in American Education and 
The standards are not written in a clear and concise manner 
….
The standards document would be well served by simply listing clear and concise pedagogy free standards
….
To be world class, it needs lots of improvement. 
Dr. Barbara McClanahan, Associate Professor of Educational Instruction and Leadership, Southeastern State University says, 
One other concern that my colleague had was that there should be a glossary; she fears that not all teachers would understand all the terms being used. Another concern I have is that some of the terms have ambiguous meanings. For example, what does grade-specific or grade-appropriate actually mean
 
Oklahoma State Regents for higher Education says, 
I believe that sample problems and classroom activities will be a significant benefit (Math)
The outcome “understand” is vague and should not be used (ELA)
 
General Complaints Draft 1 ELA
:
 Vague; uses imprecise terminology
 Needs a glossary of terms
Math
:
 Too much overlap of standards across grades
 Vague; uses imprecise terminology
 Needs specific examples of problems
 Needs a glossary of terms
SECOND DRAFT OF OAS JULY
 
The OSDE website has reviews listed for  Dr. Gray, Center for Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI), Shannon Riley-Ayers (Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes),
 
Comprehensives Center  Math, ELA (SC3) and Southern Regional Education Board Math, ELA  (SREB) CSAI says,
 
…the Oklahoma ELA standar 
ds descriptors tend to be vague and may not be sufficiently granular to adequately describe the skills and abilities students should  possess at each grade.
 
 Although the progression from one grade to another is largely logical and reasonable, the descriptors within each standard often lack depth, precision, and consistency.
 
These standards should describe a measurable objective in clear and concise terms, and the state might consider including examples to specify what students are expected to do.

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