The Common Core academic standards have been "officially eradicated" from Florida classrooms, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday.
Launched in 2010 by a bipartisan group of governors and state education chiefs, Common Core sought to bring scholastic standards to the same high level nationwide for K-12 students. Some teachers and parents criticized the standards as confusing and out of synch with students' needs.
To replace Common Core, the Florida Department of Education has proposed the new B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics.
"Florida has officially eliminated Common Core. I truly think this is a great next step for students, teachers, and parents," DeSantis said in a statement. "We've developed clear and concise expectations for students at every grade level and allow teachers the opportunity to do what they love most – inspire young Floridians to achieve their greatest potential. These standards create pathways for students that lead to great college and professional outcomes and parents will now be able to reinforce what their children are learn in the classroom every day. Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards were made by Florida teachers for Florida students, and I know they will be a model for the rest of the nation."
DeSantis said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran is recommending that the State Board of Education formally adopt the B.E.S.T. standards on February 12.
"Governor DeSantis made it very clear that we had to reimagine the pathway to young Floridians becoming great citizens, and we’ve done exactly that with the B.E.S.T. Standards," Corcoran said in a statement. "Florida will be the first state in the nation with an ELA booklist that spans grades K-12, the first state in the nation with a civics booklist embedded in its ELA standards, and a state that has dropped the crazy math. Florida has completely removed ourselves from the confines of Common Core."
