What are Sen. Bill Cole and West Virginia Republicans afraid of? Sen. Cole declares Common Core is a failure before it has even taken full effect.
It should be laughable statement as West Virginia already consistently ranks around 49th in education. Where else is there to go? It would be laughable if the education of actual young West Virginians were not at stake.
Are Cole and his friends afraid to give new, tougher standards enough time to work? Kentucky went first, and their experience was that test scores dropped, then improved as new efforts matured.
Are they afraid of accurately comparing West Virginia students and schools with those in other states and countries, as the new test and standards allow for the first time? Given the right conditions and tools, West Virginia kids can learn and achieve as well as any others. A child is a child. And they have the potential to compete with anyone in the world. It seems that some West Virginia leaders don't believe this.
What if West Virginians have a poor showing on the new test, but learn how to improve? That's called progress. Or maybe people are afraid West Virginians will do better than expected and give people one less thing to complain about.
Are they afraid of accurately comparing West Virginia schools and regions to each other? Perhaps with more sound tests - that actually match what students are being taught - West Virginia will find that some schools with good reputations aren't actually advancing students as well as had been believed. Perhaps other schools considered less prestigious will be found to be working hard, and smart.
Or are they just afraid of data? Decades of research show that kids who struggle with violence, poor nutrition, homelessness and other ills do not achieve in school as well as they might, no matter what curriculum or test is used. But those factors could often be obscured or even dismissed because this test could not be compared to that one, or these kids studied something different from those kids or other variations.
Perhaps people are afraid if other variables are removed, politicians who talk tough on education will be left with no excuse for not addressing real problems facing school children - issues of safety, health and general well-being.
Or perhaps the simpler, more cynical explanation is actually the case. Sen. Bill Cole and others see an easy way to score votes from people who are either misled about or uninterested in education and the new standards.
Besides, what is Sen. Cole's alternative? What does he offer to raise achievement? What do any Republicans offer instead? Stick with 49th place.
If this isn't just a cheap ploy for votes, then perhaps Sen. Cole and company are afraid of West Virginians finding success.