New York State Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, a Republican, challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to take fifth-grade Common Core tests and prove he’s smarter than a fifth-grader.
“Governor, if you’re listening, I’ve got a challenge for you,” Tedisco said on the floor of the New York State Assembly Tuesday. “If you think the Holy Grail of improving our education is Common Core testing, I got a challenge. I want you to sit in the Red Room, I’ll bring in the fifth-grade Common Core math test, the fifth-grade Common Core English test, and then we’ll evaluate what your scores are and we’ll release them to the public. And I believe you won’t prove you’re smarter than a fifth-grader when we’re done.”
Common Core was originally adopted in New York in 2010, before Cuomo was elected governor.
Tedisco continued on, “People have stood up and said, ‘The problem with our education system is bad teachers.’ That is absolutely not the problem with our educational system. Ninety-nine to 95 percent of our educators are great. They’re outstanding, they’re working hard, they love what they’re doing. I’ll tell you what’s wrong with our system: we took billions of dollars out of it 5 to 6 or 7 years ago and we’re just starting to put that money back into the system. Secondarily, we have an antiquated formula that only two guys in a closet understand and that can explain. Antiquated to the extent that high-need, low-wealth districts get shafted every single year. Those are the impoverized [sic] districts with kids with special needs. The third part of that formula, which we’re not adjusting, is there’s no autonomy in it. We got suburban schools, we have rural schools, we have urban schools, but we have a one-size-fits-all formula. We need to allow superintendents, administrators, school boards to use the funding the way they know best and to provide them more autonomy, not fit them into the same niches.”
Tedisco was speaking in opposition to an education budget bill that would continue funding Common Core in New York.
Tedisco previously introduced a bill that would require school districts to inform parents they can opt their children out of Common Core tests. Many, including the New York State United Teachers union, called for a boycott of Common Core tests.
