There was a  full house at the Grass Valley Elks Lodge last evening for a Town Hall meeting to address  concerns around  Common Core…That’s the set of national education standards and  associated tests . The state adopted  Common Core in 2010 and is now in the first year of pilot testing the computer based assessment called the Smarter Balance Assessment.

A group called Common Core Concerns hosted the meeting last night with  three speakers that oppose Common Core.
Attorney Brad Dacus is the Founder of the Pacific Justice Institute and says that parents should be informed they have the right to Opt Out of taking any standardized assessment.
Click here to listen to Brad Dacus

20 year teacher Lydia Gutierrez, who is also running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, says that Common Core has not been scientifically proven. She says the standards are inferior to the  previous California State Standards.
Click here to listen Lydia Gutierrez

The speakers last night  included a former member of the Common Core Validation Committee,  Dr. Sandra Stotsky, who earlier in the day was on KNCO’s Fitzsimmons and Flores show. where she  says she refused to sign off on the standards.
Click here to listen Dr. Sandra Stotsky

Another vocal opponent of Common Core at the event last evening was Sacramento parent Katherine Duran who  got in trouble with her sons school when she had him pass out flyers to fellow students urging their parents to opt their children out  of Common core testing.