Common Core Ads Claim Standards Will Equalize All Children

More advertisements for the Common Core national standards
debuted this week. The new videos are sponsored
by the National Urban League. The black civil rights group supports
the standards as a way to make public education more “equitable”
for students of all races.

The first ad features children of different races running a
100-meter dash and all finishing at the same time. A narrator
explains:

If your child attends public school, you should know something
very interesting tends to happen when all students have equal
access to a high quality education. That’s why we need equitable
implementation of Common Core State Standards. Putting Common Core
in our schools puts all children first.

Sure, students should have equal access to public education,
regardless of race. But that doesn’t mean all students should be
expected to behave equally, enjoy equal outcomes, or even
demonstrate equal needs and preferences. A major concern with
Common Core is its
equitable nature. Standardization imposes a uniform way of
learning on all children, even if that’s not in their best
interests.

In the eyes of this libertarian individualist, a race where
everyone comes in first is a frightening way to
illustrate what national education czars are trying to accomplish.
(It reminds me of something…)

But even if forced equalization were some admirable goal, there
is
no good evidence that Common Core is a well-designed and
cost-effective system of standards for advancing the educational
interests of all students.

Watch the video below. More from Reason on the
Common Core ad campaign
here.