There should be no delay in the implementation of the Common Core. My children deserve the same access to a quality public school education as other kids, and I don't want to see them endure the same challenges that I faced.
In the 10th grade, I transferred from Martin Van Buren High School, a New York City public school, to Half Hollow Hills High School in Dix Hills in Suffolk County. What I was learning in one school was completely different than the other. I was overwhelmed and I eventually dropped out that same year. I went to an alternative school and graduated with a GED.
I enrolled at Katharine Gibbs College, but I wasn't prepared for college-level courses. I was forced to take a remedial math class, so I essentially had to pay to re-take a high school-level class.
I am not alone. Forty-eight percent of SUNY students have to take remedial classes. That's up from 40 percent in 1999. Nearly 80 percent of students at CUNY had to take remedial classes last year. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, less than 50 percent of remedial students complete their recommended remedial courses and less than 25 percent of remedial students at community colleges earn a certificate or degree within eight years.
Now, I have my own children in New York public schools — a sophomore and junior at August Martin High School in Queens. I know that New York City public schools have not prepared them for college. The school system failed me. And now the school system has failed my children.
The college and career readiness rate for New York is 35 percent, which means only about a third of kids who graduate high school are ready for college-level work. Judging by this measure, you would think the goal of the public school system is just to graduate students from high school. But what about after high school? Our public schools aren't preparing students for college or the real world.
Not going to college is not an option in my house, so I want to know whether my kids are actually ready for college. That's what the Common Core will do — provide a clear set of standards so I can know whether or not my kids are making the grade.
With the Common Core standards, there's hope they can get on track. I understand that it's difficult for parents to hear that their child is not on track. I would rather know now, when I can do something about it, than to have it be too late. I don't want them to follow along the same path I did. I want them to get high school and college diplomas.
I know there are elected officials in Albany considering a delay. I haven't heard a clear proposal from them or the teachers unions about what they will do for my children and other kids who are in school now and can't wait.
I would want those elected officials to hear from people like me who feel that the old standards were deceptive and cheated us out of the future of our dreams. Those elected officials need to know that parents like me want to know how our children measure up on the Common Core standards so we can help them achieve their dreams.
Tyniera Hogan is a public school parent of two.