During a speech Thursday on education, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that Common Core not only is "not working," and as a result New Jersey will be developing its own education standards.
"It’s now been five years since Common Core was adopted, and the truth is that it's simply not working," Christie said during a speech he gave at Burlington County College in Pemberton, New Jersey, about the law he once supported,
The Daily Caller is reporting.
"It has brought only confusion and frustration to our parents, and has brought distance between our teachers and the communities where they work," the Republican said.
"Instead of solving problems in our classrooms, it is creating new ones. And when we aren’t getting the job done for our children, we need to do something different," he explained.
Christie, who is expected to run for president, told the crowd that he has asked the New Jersey Education Department commissioner to develop new state standards, with the help of parents, teachers, and educators.
"I have heard far too many people
— teachers and parents from across the state
— that the Common Core standards were not developed by New Jersey educators and parents," Christie said.
"As a result, the buy in from both communities has not been what we need for maximum achievements. I agree. It is time to have standards that are even higher and come directly from our communities," he explained.
"In my view, this new era can be even greater by adopting new standards right here in New Jersey
— not 200 miles away on the banks of the Potomac River."
This is a departure from 2013, when Christie said that "we're doing Common Core in New Jersey, and we're going to continue to. And this is one of those areas where I've agreed more with the president than not."
However, by November, he began to distance himself from the federal education standards,
the Courier-Post reported.
"I have some real concerns about Common Core and how it's being rolled out and that's why I put a commission together to study it," Christie said.
Christie distanced himself further in an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader in April when he said that he's becoming more critical of Common Core, after growing backlash from parents, teachers, and administrators. He said that he would possibly consider going back to the state-specific standards, which were in the Garden State before.
"I'm open to changing it because it's not working in New Jersey,"
Christie told the Union Leader.
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