Explainer: What is Common Core and why doesn't Bobby Jindal like it?

Common Core Rally
Common Core opponents gathered at the Louisiana State Capitol several days before Gov. Bobby Jindal made a move to end the standards and associated tests. What are these standards, and why should you care? We run down the latest. (Julia O'Donoghue, | The Times-Picayune)

This week, the fight over what Louisiana students will learn and how they will be tested went nuclear -- and left many readers wondering what on earth it's all about. We run down the basics, the latest and why you should care. 

What is Common Core?

The Common Core State Standards are the biggest change to U.S. education in a decade. They lay out skills that students in each grade should learn in mathematics and English. Currently they are being used by 43 states plus the District of Columbia.

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted the standards in 2010. Roman Catholic Archdiocesan schools in Louisiana chose to use them as well. The new standards went into effect in Louisiana for the 2013-2014  school year.

What are Common Core tests?

Louisiana 3rd- through 8th-graders are slated to take new math and English tests next year developed by the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC.

The Partnership is one of two consortiums developing shared tests to measure Common Core. It had nine members plus the District of Columbia as of May 21, according to Education Week. Louisiana is a lead member and state Education Superintendent John White is on the governing board. The other consortium is Smarter Balanced, which has 17 member states. 

Is the PARCC Common Core test the same as Common Core?

No. Some states are using the Common Core standards but developing their own tests.

How many states have dropped Common Core?

Three, as of June 18: Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

What happened Wednesday?

Gov. Bobby Jindal announced plans to block Louisiana from using new standardized tests next year and asked the Legislature to end its commitment to the Common Core academic standards that are measured by those tests. He said he wants "Louisiana standards and a Louisiana test."

White and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Chas Roemer said they would continue as planned. The law states that next year, Louisiana's tests must be "based on nationally recognized content standards" and scored against national norms.

Because the governor does not have the power to set or change educational standards, Jindal is targeting the contracting process. He said it would not be legal for the Education Department to issue a contract to PARCC to buy the new test without opening it up to multiple bidders. When White said the department would buy PARCC questions through its existing test vendor instead of issuing a new contract, Jindal's appointee at the Department of Administration suspended the current testing contract.

It is not yet clear whether that suspension is valid, or how long it could last. Given that Jindal's has championed education policies that rely heavily on standardized tests, it is unlikely that he would suspend the contract indefinitely if it prevented the state from giving exams in the fall.

What is Jindal's problem with Common Core?

The governor says it represents "federal intrusion" into Louisiana affairs. "The federal government would like to assert control of our educational system," Jindal said Wednesday. "We're very alarmed about choice and local control of curriculum being taken away."

What's the federal connection?

The argument over whether all states should be required to teach the same principles has oscillated for decades in the U.S., which has a tradition of local and state control of schools.

The federal government did not write the Common Core standards. They were created under the auspices of the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the nonprofit group Achieve. Funding for the project came from multiple sources, all private.

At the same time, the U.S. Education Department encouraged states to adopt standards that would ensure students are ready for college and careers. States who adopt such standards have flexibility on how they use millions of dollars from the federal No Child Left Behind program. If they do not use Common Core, they must get their standards certified to show they are sufficient. The federal department also gave money to the Smarter Balanced and PARCC test-development consortia.

Louisiana could potentially lose a $17 million federal grant from the Race to the Top program, according to Anne Hyslop of the New America Foundation, because its project is all about implementing Common Core. That's if the standards were dropped.

Can Jindal drop the standards?

Not by himself. It would require either the cooperation of the superintendent and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or legislative action. The Legislature turned down multiple opportunities to do so this spring. On Wednesday, Jindal asked them to change their mind next year.

Can Jindal fire White?

No. Though Jindal supported White for the top job in late 2011, only the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education can fire White -- and it gave him an excellent performance review this spring.

While only three of the 11 board members are Jindal appointees, BESE has often been criticized as being in Jindal's pocket. However, the board has defied him on Common Core. Only one board member has come out against the standards.

Both White and Jindal maintained Wednesday that they worked together very well on other education projects and simply had a difference of opinion on this one. 

What is different between Common Core and the old Louisiana standards?

In English, Common Core emphasizes analysis and evidence. From an early age, students must draw comparisons between multiple texts and use evidence from the text to support their conclusions. Instead of being asked to write what they think about a book, they are asked to explain a character's motivations and identify themes. Students also read more non-fiction, especially in high school.

Mathematics covers fewer topics but in greater depth. Along with calculations, students must explain the concepts behind their answers. Often they must show multiple ways to reach an answer. Critics say that's overkill and wastes time; proponents say it strengthens the problem-solving skills employers want.

Common Core does not cover social studies and science but many schools are retooling writing assignments in those subjects.

What is the Common Core curriculum?

There is none. There isn't even a Louisiana curriculum; local school systems decide individually which course materials they will use.

Are Louisiana's old standards better than Common Core? Does it matter?

Louisiana used to test students based on its own grade-level expectations, which were set in 2004. Analysis by the conservative Fordham Institute says the Common Core math standards are significantly tougher than the Louisiana set, and the English standards are at the same level. Jindal is not asking the state to go back to its old standards. 

That said, Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institute says standards don't much matter - it's how they're implemented that counts. His analysis found no connection between the rigor of a state's standards and student test scores. Loveless did say common standards allowed better comparisons between states. 

I don't have kids in school. Why should I care?

Louisiana scores near the bottom on national tests such as the ACT, and the country's academic performance is mediocre among other nations. The state's business community and Jindal himself are adamant that Louisiana education needs to improve in order to attract companies to locate here, and to improve the state's high poverty rate.

On the political side, it could have an impact on the 2016 presidential race. Many national observers say that Jindal's change of heart is part of a bid for higher office. Jindal has not yet declared his intentions to run for president.

What happens next?

Analysts from all sides are trying to figure out which laws apply and whose moves are valid. Stay with | The Times-Picayune as this story develops.