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President Ochoa joins coalition to support Common Core

CSU Monterey Bay President Eduardo Ochoa has joined more than 200 college and university leaders from 33 states in a new coalition, Higher Ed for Higher Standards, to mobilize in support of the Common Core State Standards.

Postsecondary leaders view the Common Core standards, with their focus on career and college readiness, as critical for improving student success.

“At Cal State Monterey Bay, we are committed to working collaboratively with local schools to help improve student performance. We want more of our young people to graduate from high school with the academic tools they will need to pursue a college degree,” President Ochoa said.

“The Common Core standards represent an important part of that effort, and we support them.”

Higher Ed for Higher Standards believes the Common Core standards can help colleges and universities in their efforts to reduce remediation rates and improve student success.

The Higher Ed for Higher Standards coalition is based on three principles:

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.

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.

Higher education has a clear and compelling stake in this debate. Effective implementation of the Common Core 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.