After three years of preparation, the state Department of Education rolled out Common Core at public schools statewide last school year, a more rigorous set of standards in English language arts and math intended to better prepare students for college and the workforce.
Hawaii is among 46 states and the District of Columbia that had initially adopted Common Core, which specifies what students are expected to know and be able to do from kindergarten to 12th grade. But public opinion nationally has turned against the initiative.
Fifty-nine percent of those who have heard of Common Core oppose having teachers in their communities use the new standards as a guide, according to an annual PDK-Gallup Poll on national attitudes toward public schools. Most who were opposed worry that the standards would limit the flexibility teachers have to teach what they think is best.
Three states — Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina — have withdrawn from Common Core, and several others are seeking alternatives.
In Hawaii, where students will be tested on Common Core for the first time this spring, the three major candidates for governor are either critical of or opposed to the initiative.
State Sen. David Ige, a Democrat whose wife, Dawn Amano-Ige, is a vice principal at Kanoelani Elementary School, said it is clear Common Core is an upgrade from previous education standards in Hawaii. The state senator said his criticism is with the department’s execution.
"With all the different things that have been going on in the department, implementation, training — all the kinds of things that you believe should happen in order to allow for a smooth implementation and transition — really a lot of those components have just been lacking," he said.
Former Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, a Republican who is a substitute teacher at public schools, contends principals and teachers should be able to develop a curriculum that best fits their schools.
"Common Core is something that goes across the board," he said. "And one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard from teachers and principals — I wouldn’t say it’s unanimous, but I think it’s the consensus — they’re not happy with Common Core."
Aiona said he is sure schools would voluntarily adopt some of the Common Core standards if given a choice, "but I think what they want is the flexibility," adding, "They want to be able to develop their own standard. And I’m definitely in support of that."
Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who does outreach in public schools, told a New Hope Leeward forum this month that he does not agree that Hawaii should adhere to Common Core because it "flies in the heart" of decentralizing decision-making at public schools.
In an email, Hannemann clarified that he would not try to end Common Core. "The answer is ‘no’ at the outset, but they have to execute the program better and be much more responsive to input from those who are at the front lines leading and teaching, parents and the community," said Hannemann, the Hawaii Independent Party candidate.
"If we want to improve our standard of living, we need to ensure that Hawaii students are able to compete in the global market. Having educational standards benchmarked to national and international standards is an important step towards this effort. My concerns regarding Common Core relate to its implementation and the political controversy that has been injected into this effort."
Common Core is an initiative led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to develop consistent learning expectations for students nationally. Private grants from the Gates Foundation helped launch the initiative, and the Obama administration has provided incentives to states that adopted the standards.
Educators who believe in Common Core argue the standards are goals, not a curriculum, and do not prescribe that teachers follow the same lesson plans. The standards in English require reading more complex, nonfiction material with a focus on comprehension. For math the standards involve a greater focus on fewer topics and a more conceptual understanding so students can apply what they have learned.
Like in other Common Core states, Hawaii educators expect test scores to decline when students first take the new Smarter Balanced Assessment, which will replace the Hawaii State Assessment that had been measuring student performance. Over time, however, educators predict that students will benefit from the enhanced rigor and that test scores will improve.
Teachers unions, including the Hawaii State Teachers Association, have complained about linking teacher pay to student performance on the high-stakes tests. The HSTA has endorsed Ige, who shares the union’s concerns about whether teachers have been adequately trained on the standards.
But much of the resistance to Common Core among educators appears to stem from the fatigue of having to meet yet another set of top-down mandates. Over the past decade, public schools have struggled to follow the federal No Child Left Behind law, which was meant to reduce the achievement gap among students by income and race, and Race to the Top, a federal grant program intended to help states prepare students for college and the workforce, better measure student academic growth, retain more effective teachers and principals, and improve low-performing schools.
Hawaii’s education reform law, known as Act 51, created a weighted student formula that bases school spending on student need and carried the promise of greater school-level autonomy for principals. Yet an independent survey of principals released earlier this year found that many still complain of a top-down management structure from the state Department of Education.
Ige, Aiona and Hannemann have all talked about empowering principals and teachers, but many educators and state lawmakers are curious about exactly what that means, since it was the same rhetoric behind Act 51 when it became law in 2004. Governors appoint members of the state Board of Education, subject to state Senate confirmation, and have the ability to influence education policy.
Ige said improving student achievement should be the highest priority.
"And that comes from empowering schools and making sure that we get away from the statewide, top-down directives and then move to providing resources and letting schools make the decisions," he said.
Ige maintains there is a disconnect.
"The department says all the right words, the board says all the right words, it’s in the strategic plan," he said. "But when you survey the principals, they believe they have less authority now than they did before."
Aiona said he has found that many teachers are frustrated and consider initiatives like Common Core "really rigid," adding, "And as such, it is like putting a square in a round hole."
Hannemann said the department should "circle back" and emphasize "the practice of actively seeking input from teachers, principals, students, parents, businesses and the community at large throughout the entire implementation process," adding, "When our state began adopting educational standards, the effort was driven by the DOE administration and BOE. Community input was limited. Moving forward, I believe we need to create a process that loops back to those most affected by the implementation of the standards."
