Conservative Leaders Push Scott Walker to Stop Common Core

On July 6th, fifty-eight prominent grassroots leaders from Wisconsin published an open letter to current governor and possible 2016 contender, Gov. Scott Walker. The purpose of the letter was to show the growing discontent for the failed program Common Core, and that they want "no more games" in regards to the standards that have frustrated many parents and teachers throughout the country.

In a statement given to Breitbart News on July 7th, anti Common Core activist Jeffrey Horn commented on the growing coalition against the failed program, as "groups from across the political spectrum: liberal, conservative, and libertarian…all united in their opposition to the games Gov. Walker is playing with Common Core in his biennial budget".

The open letter, which was posted to the Stop Common Core In Wisconsin website, read:

On April 20th of this year, you were directly asked during a major media interview if you would repeal Common Core should such a bill land on your desk. You replied affirmatively, adding, “Absolutely! I proposed it in my budget.”

Yet, contrary to claims you stand against the Common Core standards, you are effectively entrenching those standards in Wisconsin via Common Core-aligned, high-stakes assessments.

For months, you have justified taking no definitive action against Common Core, insisting that local school districts have the power to decide for themselves what standards they will use.

However, in a statement to the press on January 17th of this year, you demonstrated clear understanding that Common Core-aligned assessments effectively coerce school districts into retaining the standards.

Due to the recent rise in the number of Republican presidential candidates jumping on the anti-Common Core bandwagon , this push to see whether or not Walker will join the conservative momentum and end the program happened days after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced his own plan to end Common Core in his state, and also within the same week that Ohio Gov. John Kasich cut all state funding for Common Core based PARCC testing.

Walker has had a peculiar history with his state’s implementation of Common Core; well in place before Walker became the Governor in 2011, Walker’s first term as governor was pretty hands off in terms of education. However, Walker did manage to give Common Core a credibility boost during his first term’s budget plan, where he instructed state-level education officials to "measure mastery" to that of Common Core’s standard for testing and exams.

About a year into his term, Walker did form a committee to review Common Core, which showed the growing issues in terms of requirements and spending that have given Common Core the terrible reputation it has. In 2014, Walker came out in support of total repeal of Common Core in his state.