Common Core includes costly and questionable national standards for English and math, and federally funded national assessments have been crafted to align with the standards.
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, devastating homes and infrastructure and leading to loss of life across the island. Hurricane Maria’s catastrophic destruction, which caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, included the destruction of school facilities across the territory. Six months after the storm, hundreds of schools remained without power, and an estimated 22,300 school-age children had left the island about one in three students.
Some of the poorest performing public schools in America can befound in the nation's capital. Despite per-pupil expenditures ofmore than $11,000, 94 percent of 4th grade students in Washington,D.C., are not proficient in math, and 90 percent lack proficiencyin reading, according to the National Assessment of EducationalProgress (NAEP). Given the failure of other reforms to improve thecity's poor academic achievement and the growing recognition thatadditional funding alone will not improve the system, Congress hasan historic opportunity to support D.C. students by authorizing andfunding scholarships to give them access to quality schools.