The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are the latest educational reform intended to ‘save’ K-12 education in the US. Zarra examines some of the politically motivated reasons the CCSS were promulgated and how certain interested corporate groups have sought to influence K-12 education for their own benefit. The book examines the origins of Common Core; how assessments have spurred the calls for change; what is necessary to prepare 21st-century students for college or careers; the funding behind the Common Core initiative; the economic incentives given to states that adopted the CCSS; the CCSS standards themselves; CCSS myths, facts, and realities; and CCSS considerations, constituencies, and competition. Zarra is convincing in arguing for the need to understand CCSS's failure to improve children’s educational paths, especially as the US Congress is considering the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Providing a balanced and nuanced overview of the CCSS, this [is a] thoughtful, well-written study. . . .Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; general readers.

Choice Reviews

Dr. Zarra is passionate about exposing the fallacies of the Common Core to the public. The Common Core rhetoric is the latest in a series of politically motivated bite-sized catch-phrases whose intent and outcomes actually undermine American creativity and respect for diversity of talent and choice. Do we really want all the chocolates in the candy box to be the same? Let’s leave the educating to the professionals, not to politically appointed automatons. This is a must read.

Dr. Sheryl Santos-Hatchett, Founding Dean, School of Education and Human Services, University of North Texas at Dallas

The Wrong Direction for Today's Schools: The Impact of Common Core on American Education, by Dr. Ernie Zarra, will be extremely useful to all those interested in improving public education in this country. The structure of his book leads the reader into a deeper understanding of the issues concerning Common Core's standards. The chapters are heavily documented and readers are encouraged to delve into the material, as well as pursue independent research. Dr. Zarra's book is also timely. As Congress tries to develop new language and new ideas for a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the information in this book will especially help readers to understand why the tests based on Common Core's standards (no matter what they are called) will continue the damage begun by the annual (and excessive) testing mandated in No Child Left Behind, the 2002 version of the ESEA.

Sandra Stotsky, professor emerita, University of Arkansas

An incisive analysis of the fallacies of the Common Core with abundant evidence and convincing arguments. A must-read for all who care about our children's future.

Yong Zhao Ph.D., University of Kansas