The Common Core
Standards:
A Civil Rights Perspective
Bradley Scott, Ph.D.
Director
IDRA South Central Collaborative for Equity
bradley.scott@idra.org
San Antonio, Texas
Sixth Generation of Civil Rights
and Educational Equity
2012-Future
Systemic Equity
Transformed ways systems and
individuals habitually operate to
ensure that every student has the
greatest opportunity to learn
supported by the appropriate resources.
Equity Lens and
Goals of Educational Equity
Quality Schools Action Framework
Levers of
Change
Engaged
Citizens
Community
Capacity
Building
Actionable
Knowledge
Accountable
Leadership
Change
Strategies
Enlightened
Public Policy
What do we need?
Coalition
Building
School Capacity
Building
How do we make
change happen?
School System
Fundamentals
Governance
Efficacy
Strategic
Administrative
Leadership
Outcome
Indicators
School
System
Indicators
Parent
Involvement/
Community
Engagement
School Holding
Power
Graduation and
College going
Student
Engagemen
t
Student Success
• College Graduation
• Life success
• Global competence
Teaching
Quality
Fair Funding
Curriculum
Quality and
Access
Which
fundamentals must
be secured?
Where do we
focus systems
change?
What outcomes will result?
“A Quality Schools Action Framework – Framing Systems Change for Student Success,” IDRA Newsletter, Nov-Dec 2005.
©2005, Intercultural Development Research Association
Equity Lens and
Goals of Educational Equity
The Equity Context and Lens
The Lens
The optic through which all of the
business of the organization is
filtered.
Focusing the Equity Lens

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How does this (activity) impact all
learners?
What might create a negative or
adverse impact on any identifiable
population?
How do we address any adverse
impact?

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How might that adverse impact be
avoided?
What precautions should we take as
we move forward? and,
How do we monitor our work and
comparable outcomes for all students?
This lens:
 Protects the civil rights of every learner;
 Guarantees equitable educational
opportunity for all;
 Provides appropriate supports for school
success.
The Equity Context and Lens
The Equity Context
The systems and structures that are put in
place ensure that no learner is denied the
fair and equitable benefit afforded to all
other students regardless of race, gender,
national origin, economic level, and disability .
The Sixth Generation of Civil Rights and
Educational Equity
Equity Concerns:
Strategic and focused implementation of the Goals
Goal 1: Comparably High Achievement
and Other Student Outcomes
Goal 2: Equitable Access and Inclusion
Goal 3: Equitable Treatment
Goal 4: Equitable Opportunity to Learn
Goal 5: Equitable Resource Distribution
Goal 6: Equitable Shared Accountability

Pre-k through 20 education and school
completion

Resolution of persistent “gap” issues

Institutionalizing innovations

Eradicating barriers that block high
achievement

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Transformed curriculum that is relevant,
meaningful, powerful, and dynamic
Mastery of English language literacy
Mastery of core content at a global
competence level

Technology equity for management, instruction,
creation and development

Heightened stakeholder collaboration

Parental involvement and engagement

Safe, secure, non-hostile learning environments

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Reformed, expanded, and targeted professional
development, staff renewal and staff support
systems
Confronting new discrimination
Confronting “isms” in school
Embracing the civil rights concerns
Creating cultures of positive change
Building 21st century efficacy

Creating good community and school
health
Creating a cradle to college and career
pipeline
Eradicating the cradle to prison pipeline

...
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The Common Core Standards

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The Common Core Standards lay a foundation for
system-wide education reform
The standards reflect knowledge most critical for
college and career success
The standards bring consistency across states
The standards are more rigorous than most state
standards.
The standards increase the coherence and rigor
of what is expected of American students.
BUT . . .
There Are Some Concerns
By their own admission, the standards:
1. Do not address interventions for
students well below grade level;
2. Do not delineate the full range of
support for English language learners;
3. Do not describe how teachers should
teach
(CCSSO and NGA)
There are Other Civil Rights
Concerns





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The equity lens needs cleaning
How does this (activity) impact all learners?
What might create a negative or adverse impact on any
identifiable population?
How do we address any adverse impact?
How might that adverse impact be avoided?
What precautions should we take as we move forward? and,
How do we monitor our work and comparable outcomes for
all students?

The equity context is perforated
The systems and structures that are put in
place ensure that no learner is denied the
fair and equitable benefit afforded to all
other students regardless of race, gender,
national origin, economic level, and handicap .
 Race to the Top
 Other competitive grants

The performance field is uneven

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Where do ELLs start?
Where do the Low performers start?
What do these standards look like in rural and remote
areas?
What do these standards really look like in inner city
(distressed urban) versus suburban areas?
What do they look like in tribal settings on and off
reservations?
What do these standards look like in alternative school
settings?

The goals of equity are fractured
Goal 1:
Goal
Goal
Goal
Goal
Goal
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
Comparably High Achievement and Other Student
Outcomes
Equitable Access and Inclusion
Equitable Treatment
Equitable Opportunity to Learn
Equitable Resource Distribution
Equitable Shared Accountability

Teaching quality may fail some students

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Knowledge and skills in first and second
language acquisition
Skills for teaching the challenged learner
Pedagogy that supports success in low
performing learners
The use of culturally competent pedagogy
PD for the “challenged pedagogue”
Mis-alignment of practice, and
Skewed expectations

Quality leadership may fail to manifest itself

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Teacher evaluation systems
The principal as Learning Leader
Assurance of protection of civil rightsunder the
law for non-discrimination
Guarantees of equal protection under the law
and equal treatment
The right to learn
The appropriate distribution of resources to
support excellence for all (not just some)
Accountability – Who’s responsible, who’s to
blame?
In Truth . . .

Transforming systems requires:



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Moving from a different place to a
different place with the right intentionality
Dislodging our habits
Seeing with a different lens
Acting in a different way
Being a professional who asserts “the
right”
Intercultural Development Research Association
5815 Callaghan Road, Suite 101
San Antonio, Texas 78228
www.idra.org
bradley.scott@idra.org
contact@idra.org
210.444.1710
Creating schools that work for all children