The Alabama school board has approved new math standards for the state’s schools. According to Governor Kay Ivey, the new standards eradicated any relevance to Common Core. These new standards will go into effect starting in the 2021-22 school year.
The Common Core State Standards is an initiative that started in 2010 to set high academic standards across multiple states. Up to 46 states initially signed on. However, the program proved highly controversial, creating an uproar with some parents who could no longer help their children with their homework, particularly in math.
Up to 12 states have since introduced legislation to repeal Common Core standards, with 4 succeedings thus far.
The new standards approved by the Alabama school board were tested on the framework of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Critics argue the new standards are too similar to the Common Core standards. They want a return to classical math that focuses more on memorization.