On June 5, Oklahoma followed South Carolina as the third state to adopt Common Core State Standards only to drop them. According to The Oklahoman, "The state will now return to a pre-2010 set of standards for schoolchildren while the state develops a new set of benchmarks."

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallon (R).
Official press photo.

State Governor Mary Fallin (R) remarked upon signing the bill, “We are capable of developing our own Oklahoma academic standards that will be better than Common Core. Now is the time for Oklahomans—parents, citizens, educators, employers, and elected officials—to unite behind the common goal of improving our schools." On May 30, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) signed a bill into law that requires the state to adopt new curriculum standards for 2015-16, with Common Core State Standards (CCSS) remaining in place for the 2014-2015 school year. (Governor Haley has publicly stated her position opposing Common Core on numerous occasions.) CCSS, initially adopted by 46 states, has been seeing serious backlash—as previously covered by SLJ—inviting controversy over its difficult test questions, its affect on teacher evaluations, and its testing fairness with English Language Learner students. In April, New York State Governor Cuomo publicly distanced himself from his support of Common Core (as covered by SLJ). Indiana was the first state to repeal Common Core, with Governor Mike Pence signing a bill into law in March 2014 that requires new standards by July 1 of this year. Read past SLJ coverage on Common Core: ‘More Truth-y than Truthful’: Stephen Colbert Rips Into Common Core—and Melinda Gates Tweets Back No More Due Process for Kansas Teachers? Common Core Flip-Flop: Governor Cuomo Changes Mind About Using Common Core Test Results For Teacher Evaluations Brooklyn Teachers for English Language Learners Protest Against Common Core