Ethan Walker
The Common Core education model was adopted by many states in 2013, and while it is mandatory for government schools, it is not mandatory for Catholic schools. Catholic educators are under no obligation to conform to the Common Core curriculum, and many Catholic families, educators, and organizations have expressed concern about its implementation in Catholic schools. The Common Core's emphasis on skills and career preparation has been criticized for potentially reducing attention to Catholic identity and student formation, and crowding out important elements of authentic Catholic formation. The Cardinal Newman Society, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and defending faithful Catholic education, has cautioned Catholic schools against adopting the Common Core, arguing that it falls short of the richness of Catholic education, which focuses on forming the whole child and preparing them not only for this world but also for the world to come.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Mandatory for Catholic schools | Not mandatory for Catholic schools |
| Parents' role | Parents have been largely absent from decisions |
| Violates the principle of subsidiarity | Threatens the independence and unique mission of Catholic schools |
| Religious freedom for Catholic educators | May endanger religious freedom |
| Emphasis on skills and career preparation | Ignores other aspects of student formation |
| Classical literature | Not emphasized with Common Core |
| Testing | Never tested by teachers and students |
| Focus on rote learning | Hindrance to creating great minds |
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What You'll Learn
- Common Core is not mandatory for Catholic schools
- The Common Core violates the principle of subsidiarity
- The Common Core may endanger religious freedom for Catholic educators
- Common Core puts too much emphasis on rote learning via textbooks
- Common Core is incompatible with the foundational purpose of Catholic education
Common Core is not mandatory for Catholic schools
The Common Core is not mandatory for Catholic schools. No government has required the Common Core in private schools, and Catholic educators are under no obligation to conform. It is up to each state to decide whether to adopt the standards as their own, and those standards are mandatory only for government schools.
The Common Core's emphasis on skills and career preparation ignores other aspects of student formation that are key to Catholic education. Proponents argue that the Common Core can be supplemented with Catholic instruction, so weak standards do no harm. However, if the success of schools and students is measured by the Common Core standards, this could reduce attention to Catholic identity and student formation.
The Common Core violates the principle of subsidiarity. National standards tend to confine educators to a particular vision for education, which stifles innovation and threatens the independence and unique mission of Catholic schools. State and federal involvement in Common Core could also lead to religious liberty violations. Catholic schools’ protection from threats depends on showing consistent Catholic identity, and the First Amendment protections often depend on demonstrating a bona fide religious character. The Common Core may diminish a school’s Catholic identity by “crowding out” important elements of authentic Catholic formation, emphasizing skills and practicality over vocation, and failing to teach reasoning from a foundation of truth.
Many educators recognize this danger. In a survey of Catholic high school principals, only 26 percent said they would prefer to adopt the Common Core as it is, without significant changes to protect Catholic identity. Among principals of Catholic High School Honor Roll schools, 32 percent would reject the Common Core entirely, while 40 percent want the Church to pause and take more time to study the standards.
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The Common Core violates the principle of subsidiarity
The Common Core is not mandatory for Catholic schools. The adoption of the Common Core is up to each state, and those standards are only mandatory for government schools. However, for decades, many Catholic schools have voluntarily conformed their curricula and teaching to secular state standards. By 2013, the Common Core was being adopted rapidly by Catholic schools and dioceses across the country, prompting deep concern among Catholic families.
Subsidiarity also applies to the parents' role as the first educators of their children, a fact taught clearly in the Holy See's teaching on Catholic education. Parents have been largely absent from decisions regarding the Common Core. The Common Core may endanger religious freedom for Catholic educators. State and federal involvement in Common Core could lead to religious liberty violations. Catholic schools' protection from threats depends on showing consistent Catholic identity, because First Amendment protections often depend on demonstrating a bona fide religious character.
The Common Core may diminish a school's Catholic identity by "crowding out" important elements of authentic Catholic formation, emphasizing skills and practicality over vocation, and failing to teach reasoning from a foundation of truth. Many Catholic school principals want to reject the Common Core or take more time to study the standards. Many national, state, and local organizations have produced important analyses of the Common Core that have halted its spread in Catholic schools.
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The Common Core may endanger religious freedom for Catholic educators
The Common Core is a set of educational standards that was initiated in 2007. It is not mandatory for Catholic schools, nor are Catholic educators under any obligation to conform to it. However, for decades, many Catholic schools have voluntarily conformed their curricula and teaching methods to secular state standards, which are now largely based on the Common Core.
The Common Core has been criticised for its potential to endanger religious freedom for Catholic educators. State and federal involvement in the Common Core could lead to religious liberty violations. Catholic schools' protection from threats such as the HHS mandate depends on demonstrating a consistent Catholic identity, as First Amendment protections often depend on showing a bona fide religious character. The Common Core may diminish a school's Catholic identity by "crowding out" important elements of authentic Catholic formation. It emphasizes skills and practicality over vocation and fails to teach reasoning from a foundation of truth.
The Common Core's emphasis on skills and career preparation ignores other aspects of student formation that are key to Catholic education. While proponents argue that the Common Core can be supplemented with Catholic instruction, critics argue that if the success of schools and students is measured by Common Core standards, the natural inclination is to reduce attention to Catholic identity and student formation. This is the same path taken by now-secularized Catholic colleges.
The Common Core may also hinder students' education and formation. Critics have noted that the standards demand greater emphasis on reading informational texts, with a corresponding decrease in great literature. Some recommended texts are morally problematic. The Common Core's math techniques ignore traditional and successful math programs, and math standards are lowered. Some expectations are not age-appropriate.
The Common Core creates another tool for big government to control the beliefs and actions of parents and their students. Parents seeking a holistic faith-based education for their children may be dismayed at the incursion of the Common Core's narrow, school-to-work ideology. While proponents argue that the Common Core is a set of standards, not a curriculum, standards, curricula, and tests form a trifecta; standards drive curricula and testing. At least 12 states have adopted national science standards (which are Common Core-aligned) that present a stance on evolution that may contradict some parents' religious beliefs.
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Common Core puts too much emphasis on rote learning via textbooks
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, or Common Core, is an American educational initiative that began in 2010. It aims to standardise what K–12 students are expected to learn in English language arts and mathematics at the conclusion of each school grade. The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. It is not mandatory for Catholic schools, and Catholic educators are under no obligation to conform. However, many Catholic schools have voluntarily adopted the Common Core curriculum.
The Common Core initiative has been criticised for emphasising rote learning via textbooks. Textbooks bearing a Common Core label are not verified by any agency, and critics argue that they may not represent the intent of the Common Core Standards. Some believe that most current textbooks are not aligned with the Common Core, while others disagree. For example, mathematicians Edward Frenkel and Hung-Hsi Wu wrote in 2013 that mathematical education in the United States was in a "deep crisis" due to the way math was being taught in schools, with math textbooks creating "mediocre de facto national standards".
The Common Core's emphasis on skills and career preparation has been criticised for ignoring other aspects of student formation that are key to Catholic education. The initiative's focus on standardised testing and textbooks has been said to reduce attention to Catholic identity and student formation, potentially endangering religious freedom for Catholic educators. Catholic schools’ protection from threats to their religious liberty depends on demonstrating a consistent Catholic identity. The Common Core may diminish this identity by “crowding out” important elements of authentic Catholic formation, emphasising skills and practicality over vocation, and failing to teach reasoning from a foundation of truth.
In response to these concerns, the Cardinal Newman Society launched its Catholic Is Our Core initiative to advocate for authentically Catholic standards in Catholic schools. The Society's survey of Catholic high school principals found that only 26 percent preferred to adopt the Common Core as it is, while 32 percent would reject it entirely, and 40 percent wanted more time to study the standards. Similarly, the U.S. bishops’ conference advised dioceses to “review, study, consultation, discussion and caution,” noting that the Common Core was “incomplete” and not designed for Catholic schools.
In conclusion, while the Common Core initiative has been widely adopted by Catholic schools, it has been criticised for emphasising rote learning via textbooks and neglecting the unique identity and values of Catholic education. These concerns have led to a push for more authentically Catholic standards and a renewed focus on the primary mission of Catholic education.
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Common Core is incompatible with the foundational purpose of Catholic education
Common Core standards were developed with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and promoted with federal grants from the Obama administration. They were adopted rapidly by many states and have become controversial in political and Catholic circles. The standards were designed to ensure students are prepared for today's entry-level careers, freshman-level college courses, and workforce training programs.
The Common Core standards are incompatible with the foundational purpose of Catholic education. Catholic education combines faith and fundamentals, including the classics. Catholic schools have a unique spiritual and moral mission to nurture faith and prepare students to live lives illuminated by a Catholic worldview. The standards, which were devised primarily for public schools, are unsuitable for a traditional Catholic education. Catholic schools have traditionally provided a classical liberal-arts education that generations of grateful parents and students have prized.
The Common Core's focus on workforce preparation is incompatible with the larger goals of human excellence, spiritual transformation, and nurturing faith and character that are at the heart of Catholic education. The standards encourage reading excerpts of great works of fiction and poetry rather than complete works, and in math, even supporters concede that Common Core prepares students only for community college-level work. The result is a strictly utilitarian view of mankind, robbing students of critical context.
The emphasis on skills and career preparation ignores other aspects of student formation that are key to Catholic education. The Common Core may also endanger religious freedom for Catholic educators, as state and federal involvement could lead to religious liberty violations. Catholic schools' protection from threats depends on showing consistent Catholic identity, and the Common Core may diminish this identity by emphasizing skills and practicality over vocation.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Common Core is not mandatory for Catholic schools. Catholic educators are under no obligation to conform and it is up to each state whether to adopt the standards as their own.
Common Core is focused on readying students for college and entry-level jobs, while Catholic education is focused on forming the whole child, developing young minds and souls so that they are ready to be good citizens. Catholic education also emphasizes classical literature, which is not a focus of Common Core.
There are concerns that Common Core threatens the independence and unique mission of Catholic schools, and that it may endanger religious freedom for Catholic educators. Some argue that Common Core reduces attention to Catholic identity and student formation, and that it violates the principle of subsidiarity by confining educators to a particular vision for education.
The Cardinal Newman Society, a nonprofit with a mission to "promote and defend faithful Catholic education," has cautioned Catholic schools against adopting Common Core. They argue that Common Core's "utilitarian objectives" and lack of emphasis on the whole person represent an incomplete understanding of the purpose of education.
