New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, once a proponent of Common Core, said in an education speech Thursday that it’s simply “not working” and is “creating new” problems.
“It’s now been five years since Common Core was adopted,” Christie said at Burlington County College in Pemberton, N.J. “And the truth is that it’s simply not working.”
“It has brought only confusion and frustration to our parents, and has brought distance between our teachers and the communities where they work,” he said. “Instead of solving problems in our classrooms, it is creating new ones. And when we aren’t getting the job done for our children, we need to do something different.”
Christie said Thursday he is asking the state’s Department of Education commissioner — along with parents, teachers and educators — to develop new education standards for the state.
“I have heard far too many people – teachers and parents from across the state – that the Common Core standards were not developed by New Jersey educators and parents,” Christie said. “As a result, the buy in from both communities has not been what we need for maximum achievements. I agree. It is time to have standards that are even higher and come directly from our communities. And, in my view, this new era can be even greater by adopting new standards right here in New Jersey – not 200 miles away on the banks of the Potomac River.”
In 2013, Christie said: “We’re doing Common Core in New Jersey and we’re going to continue to.”
Christie’s attacks on the Common Core contrast with the views of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a strong proponent of the standards and a potential opponent for the Republican nomination for president in 2016.