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Entries in department of education (3)

Monday
Oct222012

Henry Burke and Common Core Standards--States Price Tags

States' Taxpayers Cannot Afford Common Core Standards

by Henry W. Burke

10.15.12

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The total nationwide cost for 7 years of the Common Core Standards Initiative is $15.8 billion.  This includes the cost to states of CCS Testing, Professional Development, Textbooks, and Technology.  (Other costs not shown in this report would be the cost to set up and administer a nationalized teacher evaluation system and a national student/educator database.)

 

 

The taxpayers in each of the 45 states (and D. C.) that have committed to the Common Core Standards Initiative (CCSI) will be left "holding the bag" because our federal government with a national debt of $16 trillion cannot come in and alleviate the cost to the states.

 

 

Because it will cost California $2.2 billion to implement the Common Core Standards but California only received $104 million ($0.1 billion) from the federal government for competitive Stimulus awards, the taxpayers of California will have to come up with $2.1 billion out of their state coffers.

 

 

 

With California on the brink of bankruptcy, where would their taxpayers come up with $2.1 billion?  (Please see Table 1 at the end of this report for a complete listing of CCS losses per state.)

 

 

 

Where would other states such as the ones listed below find the extra funding to implement the Common Core Standards? 

 

 

Illinois  -- $733 million

 

Pennsylvania  -- $647 million

 

Michigan -- $569 million

 

 

As a block, the states will spend $16 billion and get only $5 billion in federal grants.  Why would the states change to a system that costs several times what they will receive in return?  That does not sound like a very good deal to me. 

 

 

The cost for CCS does not suddenly end at Year 7.  The ongoing cost for Year 8 and after will be $801 million per year.

 

 

 

The up-front, one-time cost for CCS implementation is two-thirds (67%) of the Total Cost for 7 years. 

 

 

 

This report will focus primarily on the cost of implementing the Common Core Standards in each of the 46 states (45 states plus D.C.).

 

 

*A very helpful compilation of Anti-CCSI Resources has recently been posted at:   

http://educationviews.org/list-of-anti-common-core-resources/

 

 

Background on Common Core Standards and RTTT

 

 

Picture this scenario: You are the CEO of a large company.  An outside company offered your company an incentive to persuade you to convert to their system.  Would you change the main system in your company if you knew it would cost more money to convert than the amount of the incentive? 

 

 

 

That is what 45 states (and the District of Columbia) did in adopting the Common Core Standards Initiative (CCSI).  Under the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top program (RTTT), states competed for $4.35 Billion in federal grants. 

 

 

 

In exchange for the potential funds, states had to drop their own state education standards and adopt the Common Core Standards Initiative  (a.k.a., CCS) -- nationalized curriculum standards, nationalized curriculum, nationalized assessments, a nationalized teacher evaluation system, and a nationalized database.  

 

 

 

Under the $787 billion Stimulus measure, money was set aside for RTTT funding.  About $3.9 billion was awarded in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of RTTT in 2010; since then, an additional $1.5 billion has been granted.  This brings the total competitive awards to $5.4 billion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost to Implement CCS

 

 

How about the costs?  One reliable estimate places the nationwide cost of implementing CCS at $15.8 billion.  Another estimate pegs the total CCS cost at $30 billion.

 

 

As a block, the states will spend $16 billion and get $5 billion in federal grants.  Why would the states change to a system that costs several times what they will receive in return?  That does not sound like a very good deal to me. 

 

 

When the states were competing for those coveted federal dollars, they were not calculating realistic costs for the conversion.  Theodor Rebarber, CEO and founder of AccountabilityWorks, explained: “States did almost no costs analysis” when they signed on to adopt the Common Core standards.  They sorely needed the money and viewed CCS through the proverbial "rose-colored glasses." 

 

 

If the RTTT grant money were the chief reason that states adopted the Common Core Standards Initiative (the nationalization of the public schools), would they drop out of CCS if the conversion costs were significantly higher than the RTTT funds received from the federal government?  That is a good question.

 

 

This report will briefly cover the federal RTTT awards; however, the major emphasis will be on the cost side of the equation.  I think many states will "get off the national standards train" once the real costs are known.

 

 

When I was searching for reliable cost estimates on implementing the Common Core Standards, I found an excellent White Paper report published by the Pioneer Institute entitled National Cost of Aligning States and Localities to the Common Core Standards by AccountabilityWorks, No. 82 - February 2012.

 

 

http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/120222_CCSSICost.pdf

 

 

 

My report is based almost entirely on this outstanding Pioneer Institute White Paper.

 

 

 

Quality of the Standards

 

 

I think it is obvious that money was the chief reason that the states gave up their own state standards and adopted the Common Core Standards (CCS). 

 

 

People might try to argue that the national standards are an improvement over the states' standards.  Numerous education experts certainly do not think the Common Core Standards are an improvement over the state standards.

 

 

Two of these experts are Dr. Sandra Stotsky and Ze'ev Wurman.  The Pioneer Institute included these statements on page 4 of the report:

 

 

            Pioneer Institute retained experts with knowledge of the subject matter to develop a series of white papers that provided specific recommendations for improvement and, ultimately, questioned whether states with highly regarded standards (e.g., Massachusetts and California) would benefit from replacing their current standards with the new Common Core standards.

 

            Ze’ev Wurman and Sandra Stotsky questioned the academic rigor, as well as a perceived lack of transparency and the accelerated nature of the development process, charging that it didn't permit sufficient time for public or other expert review and comment.

 

 

http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/120222_CCSSICost.pdf

 

 

 

 

On 5.20.10, The Pacific Research Institute released its report on the national standards:

 

 

'These proposed national standards are vague and lack the academic rigor of the standards in Massachusetts and a number of other states,' said Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios. ‘The new report shows that these weak standards will result in weak assessments.  After so much progress and the investment of billions of tax dollars, it amounts to snatching mediocrity from the jaws of excellence.’

 

 

 http://pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/100520_emperors_new_clothes.pdf

 

 

Dr. R. James Milgram and Dr. Sandra Stotsky issued another report on the national standards for math and English.  The title best captures their overall sentiments: Fair to Middling: A National Standards Progress Report.  Stotsky determined that the elements were too broadly worded, and explicit goals were not established.  Also the literature standards were deemed to be very weak.  Dr. Milgram made these comments about the Mathematics standards:

 

 

            The proposed standards are, however, very uneven in quality and do not match up well either with the best state standards or with international expectations.

 

 

http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/100402_fair_to_middling.pdf 

 

 

 

 

Texas wisely shunned the national standards movement and devoted considerable energy into writing its own standards.  The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted excellent standards documents during the last four years for English / Language Arts / Reading (ELAR), Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics.  Many experts deem these four standards documents to be the best in the country!

 

 

 

 

 

Pioneer Institute White Paper Report

 

 

National Cost of Aligning States and Localities to the Common Core Standards, A Pioneer Institute and American Principles Project White Paper, No. 82 - February 2012

 

http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/120222_CCSSICost.pdf

 

 

The Pioneer white paper provides a thorough analysis of the cost of implementing the Common Core Standards.  The report states: 

 

            The goal of this analysis  was to develop a 'middle of the road' estimate of the 'incremental' (i.e., additional) cost of implementing the Common Core standards based, as much as possible, on actual state or local experience implementing similar initiatives.

 

 

 

Please note that the Pioneer Institute report gives the incremental or additional expenses borne by the states for implementing CCS during the 7-year period.

 

 

I strongly urge the readers to study the Pioneer Institute report.  Also, a wealth of information is included in the Appendices to the Pioneer white paper.  The Appendices provide enrollment numbers and detailed cost breakdowns for every state. 

 

 

http://www.accountabilityworks.org/photos/Appendices.Common_Core_Cost.AW.pdf 

 

 

 

 

Analysis of the Pioneer CCS Information

 

 

My goal has been to utilize the research done by the Pioneer Institute but to go one step further by calculating (1) the cost for each CCS category in each state, and (2) the total CCS cost for each state.

 

 

 

The Pioneer Institute white paper includes costs for four categories: Testing, Professional Development, Textbooks, and Technology.  The Appendices to the Pioneer Institute report provide dollar figures for Textbooks and Technology for each state.  I derived the Testing costs and Professional Development costs for each state from the Pioneer white paper Figure 2B (Table 5) and the Pioneer report's assumptions.

 

 

http://www.accountabilityworks.org/photos/Appendices.Common_Core_Cost.AW.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Highlights from CCS Tables

 

 

 

CCS Loss Per State  (Please refer to Table 1)

 

 

1.  California will lose $2,084 million ($2.084 billion) on CCS implementation.  (Translation: California taxpayers will have to take $2.1 billion from their state coffers to pay for CCS.)

 

2.  Illinois will lose $733 million on CCS implementation.

(Translation: Illinois taxpayers will have to take $733 million out of their state coffers to pay for CCS.)

 

3.  Pennsylvania will lose $647 million on CCS implementation.

 

4.  Michigan will lose $569 million on CCS implementation.

 

5.  New Jersey will lose $564 million on CCS implementation.

 

6.  Indiana will lose $387 million on CCS implementation.

 

7.  Arizona will lose $349 million on CCS implementation.

 

8.  Missouri will lose $336 million on CCS implementation.

 

9.  Washington will lose $331 million on CCS implementation.

 

10.  Wisconsin will lose $313 million on CCS implementation.

 

11.  Six states show a gain (the federal awards are more than the expenditures for CCS implementation and administration). 

 

12.  Tennessee has the largest CCS gain, with $145 million; the District of Columbia has the second largest gain, at $76 million. 

 

13.  Maryland has the smallest gain, with $7 million.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CCS Cost Per Student  (Please refer to Table 2)

 

 

1.  In Vermont, the cost per student to implement and administer CCS will be $433.

 

2.  In the District of Columbia, the CCS Cost per Student will be $425.

 

3.  In North Dakota, the CCS Cost per Student will be $424.

 

4.  In New Jersey, the CCS Cost per Student will be $419.

 

5.  In Maine, the CCS Cost per Student will be $418.

 

6.  In New York, the CCS Cost per Student will be $411.

 

7.  In Wyoming, the CCS Cost per Student will be $410.

 

8.  In Rhode Island, the CCS Cost per Student will be $406.

 

9.  In New Hampshire, the CCS Cost per Student will be $404.

 

10.  In Arkansas, the CCS Cost per Student will be $403.

 

11.  The CCS Cost per Student varies from $337 (in Utah) to $433 (in Vermont); the average CCS Cost per Student for the 46 states is $379.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nationwide CCS Costs and Percentages  (Please refer to Table 4)

 

 

1.  The largest category is Technology, at $6.9 billion; this is 43% of the $15.8 billion Total Cost.

 

2.  The second largest category is Professional Development, at $5.3 billion; this is 33% of the Total Cost.

 

3.  The third largest category is Textbooks, at $2.5 billion; this is 16% of the Total Cost.

 

4. The smallest category is Testing, at $1.2 billion; this is 8% of the Total Cost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nationwide CCS Cost  (Please refer to Table 5)

 

 

1.  The Total Nationwide Cost for 7 years of CCS implementation is $15.835 billion.

 

2.  The up-front, one-time cost for CCS implementation is $10.5 billion; this is two-thirds (67%) of the Total Cost of $15.8 billion for 7 years.

 

3.  The cost for Year 1 operations is $503 million.

 

4.  The ongoing annual operational costs for Years 2-7 are $801.5 million.  [$801.5 million  x  6 years = $4.809 billion]

 

5.  The cost for CCS does not suddenly end at Year 7.  The ongoing cost for Year 8 and after will be $801 million per year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Competitive Stimulus Awards  (Please refer to Table 8)

 

1.  Average Grant per State (51 States) = $105,430,332

2.  Average Grant per State (First 41 States) = $131,145,047

3.  Average Grant per Student (51 States) = $109

4.  Average Grant per Student (First 41 States) = $121

5.  Median Grant per Student (51 States) = $24

6.  Median Grant per Student (First 41 States) = $33

 

 

 

Description                             Total Awarded          Enrollment     Grant Per Student

Total for 51 States                 $5,376,946,918           49,181,237                  $109

Total for First 41 States        $5,376,946,918           44,522,237                  $121

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

The main reason that the states gave up their standards and adopted the Common Core Standards was the potential money offered under the Race to the Top program.  Unfortunately, that federal ploy of the "carrot and stick" has worked wonderfully; 45 states (plus D. C.) have signed on to the national standards.

 

 

The quality of the national standards is questionable and unproven.  The Common Core Standards have not been piloted under controlled research standards and have not been internationally benchmarked.  No one knows whether or not students will actually increase their academic achievement by being taught the CCS. 

 

 

The 45 states (and D. C.) committed to adopt the CCS before the standards documents (English and Math) were even completed and made public.  Several states blindly dropped their stellar standards in favor of the mediocre national standards.

 

 

 

The Pioneer Institute published a commendable breakdown of the cost to implement CCS.  

 

 

 

I expanded upon Pioneer's work to produce detailed CCS costs for every state.

 

 

Most states will lose money when they fully implement the national standards in their state.  California stands to lose a whopping $2 billion on CCS!  Illinois will lose $733 million; and Pennsylvania will lose $647 million.  Those states' taxpayers will have to make up for the differences from their state coffers.

 

 

The average cost per student for the implementation of CCS in the 45 CCS states (plus D. C.) is $379.  The costs varied from a low of $337 to a high of $433 per student.

 

 

However, the average amount of federal funding granted to the states was $109 per student. 

 

 

 

The decision by these 45 states (and D. C.) to adopt CCS will be terribly expensive indeed!

 

 

The Conclusion to the Pioneer Institute white paper provides these insights:

 

            While a handful of states have begun to analyze these costs, most states have signed on to the initiative without a thorough, public vetting of the costs and benefits.

 

            In particular, there has been very little attention to the potential technology infrastructure costs that currently cash-strapped districts may face in order to implement the Common Core assessments within a reasonable testing window.

 

 

 

I believe that when the states become aware of the high cost of implementing the Common Core Standards, they will seriously want to consider their options.  If a state is truly concerned about protecting the taxpayers, the state will opt out of the costly national standards.

 

 

 

 

 

===========================================

 

 

 

TABLES

 

 

Table No.                 Description

 

Table 1                      CCS Loss Per State

Table 2                      CCS Cost Per Student

Table 3                      Total CCS Cost

Table 4                      Nationwide CCS Costs and Percentages

Table 5                      Nationwide CCS Cost (Pioneer Figure 2B)

Table 6                      Students and Teachers (CCS States)

Table 7                      Students and Teachers (Non-CCS States)

Table 8                      Competitive Stimulus Awards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1-- CCS Loss Per State

($ Millions)

 

 

The following table (in millions of dollars) shows the difference between the amount of RTTT grant funds a state received and the total cost of implementation of CCS.  The states with the plus signs have a "gain" on cost minus awards.  All of the other states have a loss and will have to make up the difference out of their state coffers.

 

 

 

State

Abr.

State

Total

Cost

Federal

Competitive

Awards

State Loss

(Cost - Awards)

(+ = Gain)

AL

Alabama

     281.693

       0

     281.693

AZ

Arizona

     374.704

     25.263

     349.441

AR

Arkansas

     193.529

       9.833

     183.696

CA

California

  2,188.494

   104.208

  2,084.286

CO

Colorado

     304.494

     73.779

     230.715

CT

Connecticut

     226.215

       4.473

     221.742

DE

Delaware

       48.892

   119.122

    + 70.230

DC

District of Columbia

       29.331

   105.253

    + 75.922

FL

Florida

  1,024.163

   905.838

     118.325

GA

Georgia

     646.622

   404.691

     241.931

HI

Hawaii

       67.556

     74.935

      + 7.379

ID

Idaho

       99.246

       3.700

       95.546

IL

Illinois

     799.021

     65.610

     733.411

IN

Indiana

     386.623

       0

     386.623

IA

Iowa

     192.565

       9.035

     183.530

KS

Kansas

     185.515

     11.180

     174.335

KY

Kentucky

     256.754

       4.999

     251.755

LA

Louisiana

     270.086

     30.072

     240.014

ME

Maine

       79.189

       7.315

       71.874

MD

Maryland

     327.234

   334.284

      + 7.050

MA

Massachusetts

     377.294

   310.588

       66.706

MI

Michigan

     591.593

     22.730

     568.863

MS

Mississippi

     187.300

       7.570

     179.730

MO

Missouri

     362.058

     26.531

     335.527

MT

Montana

       56.208

       0.520

       55.688

NV

Nevada

     151.051

       0

     151.051

NH

New Hampshire

       79.715

       0

       79.715

NJ

New Jersey

     563.657

       0

     563.657

NM

New Mexico

     128.751

     10.727

     118.024

NY

New York

  1,088.436

   845.659

     242.777

NC

North Carolina

     576.903

   427.081

     149.822

ND

North Dakota

       40.281

       0

       40.281

OH

Ohio

     662.048

   468.320

     193.728

OK

Oklahoma

     246.387

     15.466

     230.921

OR

Oregon

     201.964

     19.937

     182.027

PA

Pennsylvania

     705.985

     58.840

     647.145

RI

Rhode Island

       58.883

     75.000

    + 16.117

SC

South Carolina

     273.045

     22.122

     250.923

SD

South Dakota

       49.301

     19.684

       29.617

TN

Tennessee

     373.326

   518.492

  + 145.166

UT

Utah

     196.306

     24.900

     171.406

VT

Vermont

       39.995

       0

       39.995

WA

Washington

     365.092

     34.330

     330.762

WV

West Virginia

     109.957

       0

     109.957

WI

Wisconsin

     331.092

     17.952

     313.140

WY

Wyoming

       36.163

       0

       36.163

 

  Totals

15,834.717

5,220.039

10,614.678

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2 -- CCS Cost Per Student

(Total Cost in $ Millions)  [Cost per Student in dollars as shown]

 

 

State

Abr.

State

Total Cost

Students

Cost per

Student

AL

Alabama

      281.693

      748,889

      $376

AZ

Arizona

      374.704

   1,077,660

        348

AR

Arkansas

      193.529

      480,088

        403

CA

California

   2,188.494

   6,257,082

        350

CO

Colorado

      304.494

      832,368

        366

CT

Connecticut

      226.215

      563,985

        401

DE

Delaware

        48.892

      126,801

        386

DC

District of Columbia

        29.331

        68,984

        425

FL

Florida

   1,024.163

   2,634,522

        389

GA

Georgia

      646.622

   1,667,685

        388

HI

Hawaii

        67.556

      180,008

        375

ID

Idaho

        99.246

      276,299

        359

IL

Illinois

      799.021

   2,104,175

        380

IN

Indiana

      386.623

   1,046,661

        369

IA

Iowa

      192.565

      491,842

        392

KS

Kansas

      185.515

      470,057

        395

KY

Kentucky

      256.754

      679,717

        378

LA

Louisiana

      270.086

      690,915

        391

ME

Maine

        79.189

      189,225

        418

MD

Maryland

      327.234

      848,412

        386

MA

Massachusetts

      377.294

      956,231

        395

MI

Michigan

      591.593

   1,634,151

        362

MS

Mississippi

      187.300

      484,467

        387

MO

Missouri

      362.058

      917,982

        394

MT

Montana

        56.208

      141,807

        396

NV

Nevada

      151.051

      428,469

        353

NH

New Hampshire

        79.715

      197,140

        404

NJ

New Jersey

      563.657

   1,344,785

        419

NM

New Mexico

      128.751

      334,419

        385

NY

New York

   1,088.436

   2,650,201

        411

NC

North Carolina

      576.903

   1,482,859

        389

ND

North Dakota

        40.281

        95,073

        424

OH

Ohio

      662.048

   1,764,297

        375

OK

Oklahoma

      246.387

      653,118

        377

OR

Oregon

      201.964

      582,839

        347

PA

Pennsylvania

      705.985

   1,783,502

        396

RI

Rhode Island

        58.883

      145,118

        406

SC

South Carolina

      273.045

      723,143

        378

SD

South Dakota

        49.301

      123,713

        399

TN

Tennessee

      373.326

      972,549

        384

UT

Utah

      196.306

      582,793

        337

VT

Vermont

        39.995

        92,431

        433

WA

Washington

      365.092

   1,035,347

        353

WV

West Virginia

      109.957

      282,662

        389

WI

Wisconsin

      331.092

      872,436

        380

WY

Wyoming

        36.163

        88,155

        410

 

  Totals

15,834.717

41,805,062

      $379

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 3 -- Total CCS Cost

($ Millions)

 

The column that is particularly significant is the far-right column -- Total Cost. This is the Total Cost (in millions of dollars) that each state will have to bear to implement the CCS.

 

 

 

State

Abr.

Testing

Cost

Prof. Dev.

Cost

Textbook

Cost

Technology

Cost

Total

Cost

AL

     22.225

      91.707

      44.643

    123.118

     281.693

AZ

     31.982

    100.310

      64.482

    177.930

     374.704

AR

     14.247

      71.910

      28.151

      79.221

     193.529

CA

   185.690

    605.938

    374.295

1,022.571

  2,188.494

CO

     24.702

      94.735

      48.476

    136.581

     304.494

CT

     16.737

      84.178

      33.132

      92.168

     226.215

DE

       3.763

      16.684

        7.608

      20.837

       48.892

DC

       2.047

      12.300

        3.647

      11.337

       29.331

FL

     78.184

    354.970

    155.810

    435.199

  1,024.163

GA

     49.492

    223.838

      97.932

    275.360

     646.622

HI

       5.342

      22.021

      10.784

      29.409

       67.556

ID

       8.200

      29.353

      16.515

      45.178

       99.246

IL

     62.445

    267.411

    121.910

    347.255

     799.021

IN

     31.062

    120.220

      62.427

    172.914

     386.623

IA

     14.596

      69.211

      28.483

      80.275

     192.565

KS

     13.950

      67.006

      27.758

      76.801

     185.515

KY

     20.172

      85.680

      39.328

    111.574

     256.754

LA

     20.504

      95.866

      39.771

    113.945

     270.086

ME

       5.616

      31.427

      11.221

      30.925

       79.189

MD

     25.178

    112.452

      49.594

    140.010

     327.234

MA

     28.378

    134.994

      56.056

    157.866

     377.294

MI

     48.496

    178.986

      97.181

    266.930

     591.593

MS

     14.377

      63.922

      28.961

      80.040

     187.300

MO

     27.243

    130.914

      53.930

    149.971

     362.058

MT

       4.208

      20.316

        8.502

      23.182

       56.208

NV

     12.716

      42.683

      25.557

      70.095

     151.051

NH

       5.850

     29.913

      11.717

      32.235

       79.715

NJ

     39.909

    222.544

      79.168

    222.036

     563.657

NM

       9.924

      43.880

      19.729

      55.218

     128.751

NY

     78.650

    414.787

    157.198

    437.801

  1,088.436

NC

     44.007

    202.844

      87.607

    242.445

     576.903

ND

       2.821

      16.155

        5.689

      15.616

       40.281

OH

     52.359

    215.071

    104.702

    289.916

     662.048

OK

     19.382

      82.411

      37.024

    107.570

     246.387

OR

     17.297

      55.518

      33.932

      95.217

     201.964

PA

     52.929

    252.930

    106.979

    293.147

     705.985

RI

       4.307

      21.946

        8.655

      23.975

       58.883

SC

     21.461

      90.718

      42.110

    118.756

     273.045

SD

       3.671

      18.009

        7.409

      20.212

       49.301

TN

     28.862

    126.212

      57.696

    160.556

     373.326

UT

     17.295

      49.190

      34.563

      95.258

     196.306

VT

       2.743

      16.865

        5.302

      15.085

       39.995

WA

     30.726

    103.208

      61.909

    169.249

     365.092

WV

       8.389

      39.197

      16.233

      46.138

     109.957

WI

     25.891

    112.821

      50.023

    142.357

     331.092

WY

       2.616

      13.838

        5.299

      14.410

       36.163

Totals

1,240.641

5,257.089

2,469.098

6,867.889

15,834.717

 

 

 

 

Notes on Table 3:

 

 

1.  Testing -- The Testing cost for each state was determined by multiplying the number of students in the state by $29.6768 per student.  My total Testing cost of $1,240.641 million is identical to Table 5 (Pioneer's Figure 2B).

 

 

2.  Professional Development -- The Professional Development cost for each state was determined by multiplying the number of teachers in the state by $1,931 per teacher.  My total cost for Professional Development is consistent with the total number of teachers in the 46 CCS states (2,722,470 teachers).  My total Professional Development cost of $5,257.089 million is slightly under the Table 5 amount (Pioneer Figure 2B). 

 

 

 

3.  Textbooks -- The Textbook costs for each state were taken directly from the Pioneer report Appendix.  My total Textbook cost of $2,469.098 million is identical to Table 5 (Pioneer Figure 2B).

 

 

 

4.  Technology -- The Technology costs for each state were obtained directly from the Pioneer Appendix.  My total Technology cost of $6,867.889 million is identical to Table 5 (Pioneer Figure 2B). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 4 -- Nationwide CCS Costs and Percentages

 

 

Cost Category

Cost

($ Millions)

Percentage

Testing

     $1,240.641

      8 %

Professional Development

     $5,257.089

    33 %

Textbooks

     $2,469.098

    16 %

Technology

     $6,867.889

    43 %

    Totals

   $15,834.717

  100 %

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 5 -- Nationwide CCS Cost (Pioneer Figure 2B)

Overview of Projected Costs to Implement Common Core Standards

 

 

Cost

Category

One-Time

Year 1

Operations

Years 2-7 Ongoing Operations

(Annual)

Total of

One-Time &

7 Operational

Years

Testing

 

                      $0

  $177,234,471

  $177,234,471

  $1,240,641,297

Profess. Dev.

 

  $5,257,492,417

                    $0

                   $0

  $5,257,492,417

Textbooks

 

  $2,469,098,464

                    $0

                   $0

  $2,469,098,464

Technology

 

  $2,796,294,147

  $326,042,312

  $624,258,785

  $6,867,889,169

    Total Costs

$10,522,885,028

  $503,276,783

  $801,493,256

$15,835,121,347

 

 

 

Source:  Pioneer Institute report (page 2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 6-- Students and Teachers  (CCS States)

 

 

 

State

Abr.

State

Student

Enrollment

Total

Teachers

Students per

Teacher

AL

Alabama

     748,889

     47,492

      15.8

AZ

Arizona

  1,077,660

     51,947

      20.7

AR

Arkansas

     480,088

     37,240

      12.9

CA

California

  6,257,082

   313,795

      19.9

CO

Colorado

     832,368

     49,060

      17.0

CT

Connecticut

     563,985

     43,593

      12.9

DE

Delaware

     126,801

       8,640

      14.7

DC

District of Columbia

       68,984

       6,370

      10.8

FL

Florida

  2,634,522

   183,827

      14.3

GA

Georgia

  1,667,685

   115,918

      14.4

HI

Hawaii

     180,008

     11,404

      15.8

ID

Idaho

     276,299

     15,201

      18.2

IL

Illinois

  2,104,175

   138,483

      15.2

IN

Indiana

  1,046,661

     62,258

      16.8

IA

Iowa

     491,842

     35,842

      13.7

KS

Kansas

     470,057

     34,700

      13.5

KY

Kentucky

     679,717

     44,371

      15.3

LA

Louisiana

     690,915

     49,646

      13.9

ME

Maine

     189,225

     16,275

      11.6

MD

Maryland

     848,412

     58,235

      14.6

MA

Massachusetts

     956,231

     69,909

      13.7

MI

Michigan

  1,634,151

     92,691

      17.6

MS

Mississippi

     484,467

     33,103

      14.6

MO

Missouri

     917,982

     67,796

      13.5

MT

Montana

     141,807

     10,521

      13.5

NV

Nevada

     428,469

     22,104

      19.4

NH

New Hampshire

     197,140

     15,491

      12.7

NJ

New Jersey

  1,344,785

   115,248

      11.7

NM

New Mexico

     334,419

     22,724

      14.7

NY

New York

  2,650,201

   214,804

      12.3

NC

North Carolina

  1,482,859

   105,046

      14.1

ND

North Dakota

       95,073

       8,366

      11.4

OH

Ohio

  1,764,297

   111,378

      15.8

OK

Oklahoma

     653,118

     42,678

      15.3

OR

Oregon

     582,839

     28,751

      20.3

PA

Pennsylvania

  1,783,502

   130,984

      13.6

RI

Rhode Island

     145,118

     11,365

      12.8

SC

South Carolina

     723,143

     46,980

      15.4

SD

South Dakota

     123,713

       9,326

      13.3

TN

Tennessee

     972,549

     65,361

      14.9

UT

Utah

     582,793

     25,474

      22.9

VT

Vermont

       92,431

       8,734

      10.6

WA

Washington

  1,035,347

     53,448

      19.4

WV

West Virginia

     282,662

     20,299

      13.9

WI

Wisconsin

     872,436

     58,426

      14.9

WY

Wyoming

       88,155

       7,166

      12.3

 

  Totals

41,805,062

2,722,470

      15.4

 

 

 

Notes on Table 6:

 

 

1.  The Pioneer Institute report Appendix includes a table on student enrollment in each state.  The information was obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); figures are for the 2009 - 2010 School Year. 

 

 

 

2.  The figures in Table 6 were taken from the Pioneer Appendix.  The Appendix lists the Student enrollment for each grade and the total for all grades.  The Appendix table also shows the number of teachers and the students-per-teacher ratio for each state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 7-- Students and Teachers  (Non-CCS States)

 

 

To date, 45 states plus the District of Columbia have officially committed to follow the CCSI.  The following states have not committed to the CCSI: Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia.

 

 

 

 

State

Abr.

State

Student

Enrollment

Teachers

Students

per Teacher

AK

Alaska

     131,661

      8,083

    16.3

MN

Minnesota

     837,053

    52,839

    15.8

NE

Nebraska

     295,368

    22,256

    13.3

TX

Texas

  4,850,210

  333,164

    14.6

VA

Virginia

  1,245,340

    70,827

    17.6

 

  Totals

  7,359,632

  487,169

    15.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 8 -- Competitive Stimulus Awards

(States Ranked by Total Grants Awarded, Per Student)

 

Table 8 emphasizes the Grant per Student.  Please notice how few dollars the states actually received per student; yet to receive the money, states completely aligned their education policies in accordance with the U. S. Department of Education's requirements.  In other words, for a pittance per student, states gave up control of their schools and put that control into the hands of the federal government.

 

 

Rank

No.

State

Total Grants

Awarded

Student

Enrollment

Grant

Per Student

  1.

District of Colum.

$105,253,403

     68,681

$1,533

  2.

Delaware

$119,122,128

   125,430

   $950

  3.

Tennessee

$518,492,264

   971,950

   $533

  4.

Rhode Island

  $75,000,000

   145,342

   $516

  5.

Hawaii

  $74,934,761

   179,478

   $418

  6.

Maryland

$334,284,329

   843,781

   $396

  7.

Florida

$905,838,204

2,631,020

   $344

  8.

Massachusetts

$310,588,393

   958,910

   $324

  9.

New York

$845,659,232

2,740,805

   $309

10.

North Carolina

$427,081,423

1,488,645

   $287

11.

Ohio

$468,320,080

1,817,163

   $258

12.

Georgia

$404,690,965

1,655,792

   $244

13.

South Dakota

  $19,683,676

   126,624

   $155

14.

Colorado

  $73,778,692

   818,443

     $90

15.

Virginia

  $81,070,962

1,235,795

     $66

16.

Utah

  $24,900,456

   559,778

     $44

17.

Louisiana

  $30,072,268

   684,873

     $44

18.

Maine

    $7,315,000

   192,563

     $38

19.

Oregon

  $19,936,755

   563,295

     $35

20.

Pennsylvania

  $58,840,473

1,769,789

     $33

21.

Washington

  $34,329,658

1,037,018

     $33

22.

New Mexico

  $10,727,264

   330,245

     $32

23.

Illinois

  $65,609,983

2,119,707

     $31

24.

South Carolina

  $22,121,832

   718,113

     $31

25.

Missouri

  $26,530,835

   917,871

     $29

26.

Oklahoma

  $15,465,616

   645,108

     $24

27.

Kansas

  $11,180,442

   471,060

     $24

28.

Arizona

  $25,262,809

1,087,631

     $23

29.

Minnesota

  $17,411,488

   836,048

     $21

30.

Wisconsin

  $17,952,005

   873,750

     $21

31.

Arkansas

    $9,832,689

   478,965

     $21

32.

Iowa

    $9,035,380

   487,559

     $19

33.

California

$104,207,642

6,252,031

     $17

34.

Mississippi

    $7,569,716

   491,962

     $15

35.

Michigan

  $22,730,464

1,659,921

     $14

36.

Idaho

    $3,699,882

   275,154

     $13

37.

Texas

  $57,586,897

4,752,148

     $12

38.

Connecticut

    $4,473,481

   567,198

       $8

39.

Kentucky

    $4,999,458

   670,030

       $7

40.

Alaska

       $835,470

   130,662

       $6

41.

Montana

       $520,443

   141,899

       $4

42.

Wyoming

                  $0

     91,000

       $0

43.

West Virginia

                  $0

   282,000

       $0

44.

Vermont

                  $0

     89,000

       $0

45.

North Dakota

                  $0

     93,000

       $0

46.

New Jersey

                  $0

1,373,000

       $0

47.

New Hampshire

                  $0

   190,000

       $0

48.

Nevada

                  $0

   458,000

       $0

49.

Nebraska

                  $0

   298,000

       $0

50.

Indiana

                  $0

1,044,000

       $0

51.

Alabama

                  $0

   741,000

       $0

 

 

 

 

Sources for this report:  Education Week, "Competitive Stimulus Grants: Winners and Losers," September 21, 2012; and U.S. Department of Education.

 

http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/infographics/stimulus_competitive.html

 

 

 

Table taken from "Do Not Let the DOE Nationalize the Schools in Your State," by Henry W. Burke and Donna Garner, 9.23.12.

 

http://educationviews.org/do-not-let-the-doe-nationalize-the-schools-in-your-state-2/

 

 

 

============================

 

 

Bio for Henry W. Burke

 

 

Henry Burke is a Civil Engineer  with a B.S.C.E. and M.S.C.E.  He has been a Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) for 37 years and has worked as a Civil Engineer in construction for over 40 years. 

 

Mr. Burke had a successful 27-year career with a large construction contractor. 

 

Henry Burke serves as a full-time volunteer to oversee various construction projects. He has written numerous articles on education, engineering, construction, politics, taxes, and the economy.

 

 

Henry W. Burke

E-mail:  hwburke@cox.net

 _____________________________________

 

Food for thought for those who do not wish to vote:

 

An elderly German man who lived through the Holocaust tells the following story:

I always considered myself a Christian. I attended a church since I was a small boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews; but like most people in America today, we tried to distance ourselves from the reality of what was really taking place. What could anyone do to stop it?

A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we heard cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews.

Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing! We could do nothing to help these poor people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. If some of the screams reached our ears, we'd just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more.

Years have passed, and no one talks about it much any more; but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene.

 

Link to speech by Ronald Reagan in Bergen-Belsen about one of these youths cut down by the tyranny:

 

 http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3412

Ronald Reagan quotes these words from Anne Frank:

Just 3 weeks before her capture, young Anne wrote these words: "It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them because in spite of everything I still believe that people are good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness. I hear the ever approaching thunder which will destroy us too; I can feel the suffering of millions and yet, if I looked up into the heavens I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end and that peace and tranquility will return again."


Tuesday
Apr122011

Here's a Way Congress Can Save Money and Improve Education

“Congressmen: A Great Place To Cut Funding -- National Assessments”

by Donna Garner

4.9.11

 

Almost daily I continue to submit my requests to Congress, asking them to cut the federal funding of Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and the national assessments.  

 

Besides the obvious -- that CCS/RTTT is a federal takeover of the public schools and lies way outside the provisions of the U. S. Constitution -- American taxpayers simply cannot afford it. 

 

Besides the cost of states’ dumping their own textbooks, standards, and tests in order to implement the Common Core Standards, the cost of the national assessments alone would be horrendous!

 

An education technology expert whose name I shall keep confidential explained to me how expensive the national assessments would actually be, and the costs would fall squarely on the shoulders of local taxpayers.

 

To take the national assessments, every student in a school (K-12) would be required to have his own individual technology device because the multi-media, interactive assessments are to be given online; and students would continually be taking formative assessments (a.k.a., periodic, benchmarked) throughout the entire school year.

 

The USAC Universal Service Fund, which is presently tacked onto the price of all of our cell phones and home phone bills, already supplies Internet Access (IA) at a reduced fee for every public school and library in the country.

 

 

The USAC spends $2.5 Billion each year just on telecom, IA, and building infrastructure to these schools and libraries. Therefore, the costs are very substantial already. 

Recently the federal government put $10 Million into a pilot project to give Internet Access (IA) to individual school students.  The federal funding for this pilot project, which provides only the IA, was eaten up almost instantly by just a few school districts. 

 

For us to understand the scope of the problem, we must realize that states such as Texas have 1,237 separate public school districts and charters, 8,435 campuses, and over 4.8 million students.  California has 1050 districts.  The nation has over 35,000 districts.  

Unfortunately, there is not a cost-effective way to deliver IA to every public school student without their also paying a $30 a month IA fee along with the cost of the technology device.  In fact, the cost of the device itself is becoming incidental to the monthly fees over which AT&T, Verizon, and other companies are salivating.

This is similar to companies giving a free cell phone to a customer if he signs up for the two-year plan; the companies know the monthly fees will more than make up for the cost of the devices themselves. 

As people in the telecommunications industry consider the money to be made under the Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and the national assessments, talks have begun surfacing about building mesh networks around the public schools. This would allow Internet Access (IA) to everyone living around the schools (the outliers), and they could use the same IA that the feds through the USAC fees are currently purchasing at the school sites.   The “gotcha” is that the outliers would be required to pay the monthly technology usage fees. 

A huge fiscal problem is that building out these mesh networks around all the public schools in America would cost billions, and the USAC fees would not pay for this part.  

It is easy to see why AT&T, Verizon, Microsoft, Cisco, and Dell are all planning on benefitting from the implementation of the Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and the national assessments. [From the very first moment that Obama came into the White House, Bill Gates has been using his moneybags to promote CCS/RTTT.)  

As usual, it would be the taxpayers who would have to foot the bill for these national assessments and the technology infrastructure required.  

ACTION STEP:

Please contact your Congressmen and ask them to cut immediately the funding for the Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and the national assessments.

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

=======================================

 

As a follow-up to this Education Week Teacher article (posted below), please read my March 18, 2011, article entitled “Taxpayers, Grab Your Wallets.” 

 

http://www.navigator-news.com/component/content/article/3-local/251-taxpayers-grab-your-wallets

 

 

======================================

 

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2011/04/high_tech_testing_on_the_way_a.html

High Tech Testing on the Way: a 21st Century Boondoggle?

Excerpts from this article:

by Stephen Krashen and Susan Ohanian

When the plans to create Common Core Standards were announced, Secretary Duncan told us that it would be accompanied by assessments to enforce the standards. We were also told that developing standards would be relatively inexpensive, but developing assessments, by contrast, will be a "very heavy lift financially" (USA Today, June 14, 2009).

It is gradually becoming clear that the lift will be extremely heavy. The new tests will be computer-based, administered online, and "will make widespread use of smart technology. They will provide students with realistic, complex performance tasks, immediate feedback, computer adaptive testing, and incorporate accommodations for a range of students" (Duncan, 2010). Duncan noted that "with the benefit of technology, assessment questions can incorporate audio and video. Problems can be situated in real-world environments, where students perform tasks or include multi-stage scenarios and extended essays."

An example:
The National Education Technology Plan 2010 (U.S. Department of Education; Office of Educational Technology) describes one kind of testing that is being developed, testing that takes place "in the course of learning" (xvii) and that tries to find out what students are thinking while doing projects:

As students work, the system can capture their inputs and collect evidence of their problem-solving sequences, knowledge, and strategy use, as reflected by the information each student selects or inputs, the number of attempts the student makes, the number of hints and type of feedback given, and the time allocation across parts of the problem.

(pages 29-30: "Assessing during online learning").

Aside from the mind-control aspect of this kind of testing, how much will it cost, in addition to the cost of developing, testing and revising the new tests?

If we are going to have computer-based tests, and if they are to be delivered to students via the internet, the first requirement is that all students need to be connected to the internet. A recent article in the New York Times gives us some idea of what will be involved. The article begins by noting that money is scarce these days:

Despite sharp drops in state aid, New York City's Department of Education plans to increase its technology spending, including $542 million next year alone that will primarily pay for wiring and other behind-the-wall upgrades to city schools ... and $315 million for additional schools by 2014...

(New York Times, "In city schools, tech spending to rise despite cuts," March 30, 2011)

Buried deep the article is a statement by "city officials" that the huge expenditures for technology are primarily to make it possible for students to take computerized national standardized tests.

We can expect this to happen nation-wide. If the New York figure is extrapolated to the entire country, the cost to connect all children to the internet will be at least 50 times the cost of connecting New York City alone, or $25 billion (New York City enrolls one million students, the USA as a whole, over 60 million). This is only to connect students to the internet. The whistles and bells needed to do "computer adaptive testing" with audio and video will cost more.

Technology, of course, continues to develop all the time, and consumers have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to discard the old and embrace the new, even at considerable expense. We can expect that after every student is connected, sooner or later the set-up will become obsolete and need to be replaced, either in part or totally. The schools, we predict, will cheerfully pay up, eager for the "newest" technology, and the computer companies will cheerfully accept their money.

The billions spent so that students can take national tests will have a huge payoff for the entire computer industry in other ways. This was enthusiastically announced by Education Secretary Duncan's Chief of Staff and former CEO of the New Schools Venture Fund, Joanne Weiss. Weiss noted that because all students will have internet access in order to be tested, technology companies can now profit from one giant national market for all their educational products:

The development of common standards and shared assessments radically alters the market for innovation in curriculum development, professional development, and formative assessments. Previously, these markets operated on a state-by-state basis, and often on a district-by-district basis. But the adoption of common standards and shared assessments means that education entrepreneurs will enjoy national markets where the best products can be taken to scale

(Weiss, 2011)

Of course, the administration has argued that these will be new and better tests, more sensitive to growth in learning, able to chart student progress through the year, and able to probe real learning, not just memorization. Before unleashing these "improved" tests on the country, however, there should be rigorous investigation, rigorous studies to show that these measures are worth the investment. Right now, the corporations and politicians insist that we take on faith the claim that these tests are good for students. Such claims exhibit a profound lack of accountability…

The Department of Education plans to use American students as experimental subjects to try out an extremely expensive, time-consuming and dubious testing program that will engulf classrooms. If it fails, the effect on students will be devastating, with schools robbed of money, and a generation of students poorly educated, teacher professionalism subsumed by data management, and schools robbed of funds for anything but technology repair. But the testing and technology companies will win, profiting regardless of the success or failure of their products and always ready to convince us that the next versions will be better…

Dr. Stephen Krashen is a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California. He has written numerous books on his research into literacy and language acquisition. In recent years he has emerged as a persistent voice pointing towards the basic steps we should take to build literacy and strong academic skills for our students.

Susan Ohanian, a longtime teacher, has written 25 books on education, including When Childhood Collides with NCLB and co-authorship of Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools? Since the passage of NCLB, she has run a website of resistance, www.susanohanian.org, which received the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public language. She is a fellow at National Education Policy Center and an editor at Substancenews.net

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

 



Saturday
Nov202010

Finding The Way Back Through The Heart For The Miley Cyrus Of This World

We win some--we lose some.  This week's loss for children in Alabama with the adoption of the common core standards opened the door to taking stock at what's happening in America.   It has been said by none other than the very wise President Abe Lincoln "the philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."  Indeed there is a war for control of the school room for it will direct the future of America.

America even during these worrisome times is looked upon by the world as the land where dreams can come true.  As in the beginning, there were dreams from parents to have a better world for their most precious possession--their children in this land full of promise.  

Today in America we see teens clothed in splendor yet lacking in wisdom and true joy.  They seek to fill the pain within as material comforts have made them and their parents forget where true comfort and joy come from. The Bible says the beginning of wisdom is the "fear" or awe of the Lord.  The Bible is a guide--it was in the beginning of this nation and it still is today.  But today unlike then, it's wisdom is no longer welcomed in the training of the children.  And so hard as they try the bureaucrats can't help but fail year after year, programs after programs.  

Alas, the latest one--common core standards is the tallest order of all--"if only we in Washington can direct them all--we will teach all the children to learn alike."  It reminds me of the builders of the towers of Babel.  The Bible says unless the Lord be in it they build in vain.  And the building up of children through the Department of Education is very lacking indeed and the more money they throw at it--the worse it gets.

One does not have to go far to see where the next generation is headed, like in Miley Cyrus who I saw tonight, the idol of many children of today.  Miley is lost and is not looking in the right direction.  Her parents too have lost their footings and can't find their own way.

But Miley has something priceless in her corner--an older generation--a  loving Grandma that tried to teach her when she was little that Jesus lives within her heart.  I believe this and her Grandma's prayers to the Almighty God can make all the difference and help the Mileys of this world find their way someday.  Hopefully the parents will find Him and their way back too. 

So, chin up for the likes of me and you, who cares about the future generation, let's get back to work and it begins on our knees.  George Washington did it--a long long time ago.  And heaven smiled and miracles after miracles happened.  We need them today--please let's all help and lift up this nation, our children to our merciful God in prayer.

Psalm 18:2,3

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
         My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; 
         My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
         So shall I be saved from my enemies.