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For Immediate Release
Monday, July 19, 2010
Contact:Heidi Guarino 781-338-3106

Joint statement from former Massachusetts Education Commissioners

BOSTON - "We strongly support the adoption of the Common Core standards. We were there throughout the conception, development and implementation of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, and recognize the role they have played in improving academic achievement statewide over the past 17 years. That said, the final Common Core standards increase expectations and represent an advancement over our already strong Massachusetts standards. A critical piece of the 1993 Education Reform Act called for the development of strong academic standards to be used statewide, to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth would be taught the same content and held to the same high standard. This spurred the creation of the state's curriculum frameworks, which are widely viewed as among the best, most challenging standards in the nation. Our Massachusetts standards have had a clear influence on the Common Core. Writers frequently double-checked against our content to measure the strength of what they were creating and were in close contact with the state's curriculum experts. Each iteration of the Common Core showed significant improvement, and the final outcome is impressive. These standards will improve our ability to educate all students to higher levels of academic achievement. Our academic success with students comes from our hard work and high expectations, and the nation is poised to benefit from our experience through the Common Core. Adoption is the right thing to do, and will help us to remain competitive with other states, and ensure that our students learn the content they need to succeed in school, college and life in the 21st century." Robert Antonucci is currently the president of Fitchburg State College; David P. Driscoll is the owner of Driscoll Consulting.



Last Updated: July 19, 2010



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