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WHAT and HOW are you teaching MY child?

Texans will NOT buy a “Rebranding” of CSCOPE or COMMON CORE in Texas!

Take 5 min. to watch the latest video below: Texas Parents say NO to Dan Patrick and No to CSCOPE “Rebranding”    

I hope you will take the time to watch and understand that FED LED ED/Common Core is infiltrating our education system; public, private and charter.

“YOU” are the answer to stop it, not Sen. Dan Patrick and not even Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Although as we have seen from the 83rd legislative session Sen. Dan Patrick  has done a lot to destroy our children’s education.

The question is…. Is Common Core in Texas?

As Mary Ann Whitaker rightly questioned Sen. Dan Patrick during the CSCOPE debate between Sen. Dan Patrick and SBOE elected official Thomas Ratliff…… why are you so focused  on CSCOPE when all curriculum products and resources are aligned with the Common Core?

Sen. Dan Patrick  does not get it, the big picture that is. He is so busy trying to use issues like CSCOPE to get elected that he ends up doing much more harm than good. That is not what we want in a Lt. Governor of Texas. 

Take HB5 for example: Authored by Aycock in the House and Sponsored by Sen. Dan Patrick in the Senate fundamentally transformed Texas education and has been shown to be a pathway to the Common Core. This transformation completely undermined all the work strong conservatives had accomplished in developing the strongest TEKS in the nation, preferring to dumb down our standards to that of the Common Core. As writtern by Merrill Hope with Breitbart News….

The HB 5 Foundation plan requires only 22 credits to graduate.

Algebra II is already a casualty of HB 5. It is no longer a high school graduation requirement. This has drawn criticism from educators like Dr. Stan Hartzler, retired professor and advisor at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.  He believes this change in Texas education will have a negative effect on students. He told Breitbart News that although everyone may not like math or become mathematicians, math is everywhere and removing it or replacing Algebra II with algebra-reasoning courses does not benefit students later in life, especially those who struggle with math.  He said, “I see this Texas action as more dumbing down.”  Hartzler also was highly critical of the controversial Texas education product, CSCOPE, which was created by the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC).

This shift to college and career readiness is not new in Texas.  It was done before under former Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.  In a 2010 press release, Scott announced the higher standards set by Texas College and Career Readiness Standards that were adopted in January 2008.  He emphasized that these standards (TEKS) were created in Texas. They were chosen over the national Common Core College Readiness Standards that were created in part by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association.

Why the switch to HB 5?  Democratic Texas senator Wendy Davis (D- Fort Worth) is one who favors these pathways.  She claimed they provide great opportunities for students.   

 

What we know is that the Common Core Fed Led Ed philosophy of education sets up as Dr. Peg Lusik says… the lowest standard of achievement instead of giving Texas children an education of “Opportunity” so they can achieve great things.

Does it not concern you when Wendy Davis Democrats and Sen. Dan Patrick are on the same page when it comes to our children’s education?

In addition HB5  sets up a system in which our child’s pathway is determined by the end of 8th grade based on assessments and data collected in a child’s portfolio. Former Commissioner Robert Scott warned…..

“….. understanding the data and variations in the data are vital to using the data. However, his concern is the ignorance of those reading the data to understand what the data means.

Misinterpreting or manipulating data, according to Scott, can make or break whether a student is considered “college ready.” Scott called the data-driven age another slippery slope that needs to be further examined. Common Core critic Dr. Peg Luksik is already examining the ramifications of data-manipulation and behavior.” 


Another major issue with Sen. Dan Patrick is the fact he is out pushing that in Texas we do not have Common Core because he helped pass HB462. We now know this is a meaningless piece of legislation. It is actually very dangerous in my opinion because it creates the illusion that in Texas we do not have Common Core when in fact we do. 

As reported in Breitbart Texas…. 

Interestingly, on June 14, 2013, four days after HB 462 was signed into law, another piece of legislation was signed into law by the Governor —  House Bill 5 (HB 5), the new College and Career Readiness Standards.   Unlike HB 462, HB 5 is clear about non-compliance. In line three of the bill, it describes the act “relating to public school accountability, including as assessment, and curriculum requirements; providing a criminal penalty.” 

It’s a crime if a school or district does not adhere to the new Texas College and Career Readiness Standards. Yet, nowhere in 100-plus pages of HB 5 does it ever identify what is that “criminal penalty.”  For further clarification, Breitbart News asked that Commissioner of Education Michael Williams verified this is accurate. He said, “There was a lack of sufficient designation of what this penalty is. This matter needs to be further taken up with the legislature.”

Breitbart News reported on the new Texas College and Career Readiness Standards and the questionable dots that overlap and may well connect it to the federal mandate through end-of-course and exit assessments, national standardized testing and Pearson – the leading textbook provider of the Common Core State Standards.  As it relates to HB 462, there is another curious dot in HB5 legislation, Section 3, subchapter c, chapter 7, Sec. 7.064  of the Education Code.  It reads:

Sec. 7.064.  CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CONSORTIUM.  (a) The commissioner shall investigate available options for the state to join a consortium of states for the purpose of developing sequences of academically rigorous career and technology courses in career areas that are high-demand, high-wage career areas in this state.

(b)  The curricula for the courses must include the appropriate essential knowledge and skills adopted under Subchapter A, Chapter 28.

(c)  If the commissioner determines that joining a consortium of states for this purpose would be beneficial for the educational and career success of students in the state, the commissioner may join the consortium on behalf of the state.

This means that the Commissioner of Education, who is an appointed position in Texas, can investigate, seek out and even bring Texas into a consortium of states if he deems the consortium creates academically rigorous career and technology courses in high-demand field. This, in theory, was what HB 462 is supposed to prevent. 

Dan Patrick ~ Mike HuckabeeIn addition I will not support Senator Dan Patrick as he raises funds with Pro-Common Core “Rebranding” Mike Huckabee! What Dan Patrick has accomplished so far is a CSCOPE “Rebranding”. I hate to say Thomas Ratliff is right, but he is on this one….

“CSCOPE is still in the classroom, repackaged as TEKS Resource System. According to Ratliff, its use is even more widespread than the original 800-plus schools under which it was originally implemented.  

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