1. Why We Should be Skeptical about the Common Core
Tom loveless
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies
Brown Center on Education Policy
The brookings institution
May 19, 2014

2. State Content Standards
Relationship: Fordham’s Ratings of State Content Standards with State NAEP Gains
Standards Rating
Correlation Coefficient
Fordham 2000
-0.06
Fordham 2006
0.01
Change in Fordham
0.08

3. Relationship: State Proficiency Level with NAEP Achievement
State Proficiency Levels
Relationship: State Proficiency Level with NAEP Achievement
2005 NAEP
2009 NAEP
Change
4th Grade Reading
-0.22
-0.08
0.35*
4th Grade Math
-0.12
0.01
0.34*
8th Grade Reading
-0.11
-0.09
0.06
8th Grade Math
0.00
0.02
*p < 0.05

4. Variation of State NAEP Scores
Between- and Within-State Variation of State NAEP Scores
Average State NAEP Score
Between-State SD
Within-State SD
Multiple (Within/ Between)
4th Grade Reading
220.1
6.6
34.7
5.3
4th Grade Math
239.5
6.3
27.8
4.4
8th Grade Reading
263.3
6.5
32.9
5.1
8th Grade Math
282.4
8.5
34.8
4.1

5. Implementation Rating
Changes in NAEP Scores
Changes in NAEP Scores (in Scale Score Points), by Implementation of CCSS
Implementation Rating
Strong
(n=19)
1.65
0.23
1.88
Medium
(n=26)
0.39
0.61
1.00
Non-adopters
(n=5)
1.30
-0.69
All
(n=50)
0.96
0.34

6. Why Are the Effects So Weak?
Implementation is everything that happens after adopting standards, including:
All four components vary in quality.
Curriculum
Instruction
Assessment
Accountability

7. Conclusion
Common Core is unlikely to have a significant effect on student achievement.
Common Core is unlikely to have a significant effect on student achievement.