Coalition intends to teach students and parents to aim higher
Jan 31, 2014, 5:00 AM | Updated: 5:00 am
PHOENIX — A coalition of 40 groups is teaming up to teach people about Arizona’s new version of Common Core education standards — which are meant to replace the AIMS test.
The Arizona Aims Higher Campaign was designed after a poll showed that 58 percent of Arizonans don’t know much about the standards. Pearl Chang Esau of the education support group Expect More Arizona said a lot of people don’t understand the standards.
“Some folks have a concern that they are a federal takeover of education when we should have local control,” Esau said. “In Arizona, we would be the last to say we should let go of local control.”
In Arizona, the common core standards have been renamed the Arizona College and Career Ready standards, and will be developed with leadership and advice from Arizona educators.
Even though people don’t know much about the standards, Esau’s group claims that 67 percent of Arizonans support them.
The Arizona Aims Higher campaign is designed to teach people about the standards and the tests that go with them.
