Mississippi’s superintendent of education remains steadfast in her support of Common Core educational standards. MPB’s Evelina Burnett reports, the standards are likely to be a topic of fierce debate during this legislative session.
A rally against the standards at the capital last week attracted about 200 people.
But Superintendent of education Carey Wright says her position has not changed when it comes to the Common Core standards.
"My position has not wavered, nor has the boards," she says. "We are going to continue to implement our Mississippi college and career-ready standards. The board has made a true commitment to that, as have I. I think our schools and our districts have worked way too hard over the years, from superintendents all the way to teachers, for us to back off, so it is our intent to keep pushing forward."
Governor Phil Bryant spoke at the rally, saying federal overreach is at the heart of his opposition to Common Core.
Lt. Governor Tate Reeves has said the state needs to stop implementing common core and come up with its own new standards. Superintendent Wright says she thinks the board of education would be willing to build on the standards.
"I think the board is open to a conversation about adding to the standards, if there are standards that people feel that need to be added to," she says. "We've always considered these standards the floor, the least we expect of children. So I think there's a conversation that could be had about that. But the standards themselves, they are very firm on."
For the first time, Mississippi students will take tests aligned to the common care standards this year.
