Policy | News

Postsecondary Leaders Form Coalition To Support Common Core Standards

• By Rhea Kelly
• 06/10/14

More than 200 representatives from colleges and universities across 33 states have banded together to form Higher Ed for Higher Standards, a new coalition designed to support Common Core State Standards as a key strategy for improving student success.

"This is a call to action and I urge my colleagues in higher education to stand up and make their voices heard on Common Core," said Nancy Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York and chair of the National Association of System Heads, in a press release. "Our coalition of higher education leaders will work with our K-12 partners and state policy makers to ensure the full implementation of the Common Core."

Zimpher added: "These Standards are good for our students, our states and our country. We must have students that are college- and career-ready in order for the United States to continue to compete and win in the 21st-century global economy."

According to a statement from the coalition, Higher Ed for Higher Standards is based on three principles:

1. "Every state should insist on K-12 academic standards that adequately prepare students for college and careers so that every young person has the opportunity to pursue postsecondary education, or quality training and careers, after high school. The Common Core State Standards were developed by states to serve this goal and represent a significant improvement over most states' previous standards.
2. "New assessments aligned to the Common Core standards are equally critical. States' current high school tests do not adequately measure whether students have mastered the new, higher standards. More sophisticated assessment instruments are necessary to provide better feedback to teachers, parents and students, and offer more meaningful information to colleges on students' postsecondary preparation.
3. "Higher education has a clear and compelling stake in this debate. Effective implementation of the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments is an important step toward improving college readiness, reducing remediation rates and improving completion rates in two- and four-year institutions and job-training programs."

Higher Ed for Higher Standards is a project of the Collaborative for Student Success, a grant-making initiative funded by regional and national education foundations focused on improving public education.