What are the business leaders afraid of?

Sent to the NY Times, Feb 12, 2013

Why has the business community posted a full-page ad in the NY Times praising the “tougher” academic standards and more “rigorous” expectations of the common core? (“Open Letter from 73 Business Leaders,” Feb. 12).

Maybe it is because there is greater awareness that harder standards and increased testing do not help students, and greater awareness that American academic performance is high: Test scores of American students not living in poverty rank near the top of the world.

Maybe business leaders fear that more of the public will learn this, and that the substantial profits to be made from the common core will no longer be theirs.

Stephen Krashen


Open Letter from 73 Business Leaders,
Ad published in the New York Times, Feb 12, 2013
As business leaders, we believe that ALL American children have a right to an education that prepares them to be successful in a competitive global economy. We also understand that in order to compete in a knowledge-based, global economy, we must improve the academic performance of our students. The United States is once again at a critical place in its quest for educational excellence, and the need for a strong employer voice is greater than ever. America's business leaders can make a positive difference for schools, students and the country's future if we join together and share our expectations for education and our support for the people and institutions that move education reform forward.
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative, led by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, has produced K-12 standards in the foundational subjects of math and English that meet the business community's expectations: they are college- and career-ready, grounded in evidence and internationally benchmarked. The CCSS set consistent, focused, rigorous academic expectations for all students, and 46 states and the District of Columbia have already adopted them. The CCSS serve as a necessary foundation for making the changes needed to improve student achievement and ensure the United States' educational and economic preeminence.
We support these new, tougher academic standards that are currently being rolled out in classrooms across the country. These standards will better prepare students for college and the workplace, something of critical importance to the nation's employers. The changes now under way in America's schools hold great promise for creating a more highly skilled workforce that is better equipped to meet the needs of local, state and national economies.