Opinion: Common Core Standards Are Critical for Student Success

Times Union // February 5, 2014

Tyniera Hogan, a public school parent of two, discusses how the Common Core standards will help her children succeed in college.

In her opinion piece for Times Union, Hogan shares that she was failed as a student by the New York City public school system:

In the 10th grade, I transferred from Martin Van Buren High School, a New York City public school, to Half Hollow Hills High School in Dix Hills in Suffolk County. What I was learning in one school was completely different than the other. I was overwhelmed and I eventually dropped out that same year. I went to an alternative school and graduated with a GED.

I enrolled at Katharine Gibbs College, but I wasn't prepared for college-level courses. I was forced to take a remedial math class, so I essentially had to pay to re-take a high school-level class.

Hogan goes on to discuss why the Common Core is necessary in preparing her children for college:

Not going to college is not an option in my house, so I want to know whether my kids are actually ready for college. That's what the Common Core will do — provide a clear set of standards so I can know whether or not my kids are making the grade.

With the Common Core standards, there's hope they can get on track. I understand that it's difficult for parents to hear that their child is not on track. I would rather know now, when I can do something about it, than to have it be too late. I don't want them to follow along the same path I did. I want them to get high school and college diplomas.