CCSS's Fundamental Trouble

        Valerie Strauss uses the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reform to present her argument.  She says it was a failure during its active decade and people should take that into consideration when promoting the Common Core.  Instead of the NCLB benefiting the students, it only caused many to blame the schools and teachers for its mistakes.  The NCLB reform required students to be tested in grades 3-8 and again in high school.  Unfortunately, this resulted in over half the schools in the nation to fail.  Strauss sees the Common Core as worsening the situation.  She says that students, teachers, parents, and communities should have more of a voice rather than bureaucracies and democracies.
        Strauss is very concerned about the result of the Common Core.  Her opinion is highly respected and should be heard by many.  However, being part of the NCLB era and being a future teacher, I have faith in the Common Core.  Some teachers are and were the blame for students being left behind.  I am a witness to that.  That is why I truly feel that teachers play a fifty percent role in the success of students.  Therefore, I differ with Strauss' reasoning of why the NCLB may have not been the best choice for failing schools.  For example, although we have produced some awesome, well rounded students who have gone on to do wonderful things, my high school was considered a failing school while I was in attendance there.  Now that they have gotten a new principal, the school has been on the right track for the last past year.  So I do not think it was the reform that caused us to be a failing school, instead it was the leadership.  I know this may not be the case for other schools, but Strauss' evidence can be debatable.