10-17-13 waupun superintendent-common core

The Waupun School superintendent says eliminating the common core standards would roll back a lot of hard work that’s been done in Wisconsin to improve student performance.  Tanya Gubin testified at a public hearing  in Fond du lac Wednesday.  "I think what I want from Wisconsin government is what is the real issue?  They keep talking to us about the common core standards when in fact when we get down the heart of the issue, I think the issue is more about local control in our school districts,"  Gubin said.  "  Tea party members sent lawmakers a letter earlier this year calling for an investigation into the standards.  Gubin acknowledges there are some people who believe the standards are creating a loss of local control and that the federal government is using the standards to gather students’ personal information…but Gubin says that’s just not the case.  "As I sit and look at these common core standards I'm looking at kindergarten, 1st, 2nd (grade) talking about where to put a comma in a paragraph.  I don't see how we are going to gather information about students based on what they should know in math and what they should know in reading."  Gubin says her fear is that students in need would be hurt if school districts have to go back to developing standards on their own.