Dive Brief:

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says states and school districts should have a two-year transition period where test scores aligned to the Common Core State Standards do not impact evaluations or other high-stakes decisions.
• The Common Core was initially adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia, and while many of these states began implementing the standards and associated tests over the past three years, though a handful have begun taking measures to abandon the Core all together.
• Critics have focused on Common Core's speedy implementation and lack of a pilot period, with teachers and unions voicing frustration around the creation of new teacher evaluations tying scores to student performance on the untested exams.  
• The two-year delay is ultimately not the Gates Foundation's choice, but rather up to state lawmakers or education departments.  

Dive Insight:

The Gates Foundation's announcement comes on the heels of a Washington Post article that dissects Bill Gates relationship with the Common Core. The article emphasizes the speed and haste in which the standards were created and implemented, as well as the lack of a trial period.

While the article brought this topic to national attention, many educators and lawmakers have been struggling with the haste of the Common Core rollout for quite some time. Kentucky, for example, has been using assessments tied to the standards since 2012, but pushed back associated high stakes until the 2015-16 school year.  

The need for a trial period is reflected in the open letter announcing this suggestion. Vicki Phillips, the Gates Foundation's director of education, writes, "No evaluation system will work unless teachers believe it is fair and reliable, and it’s very hard to be fair in a time of transition. The standards need time to work. Teachers need time to develop lessons, receive more training, get used to the new tests and offer their feedback."

Some are struggling still to understand why the unelected Gates Foundation has so much influence in how the Common Core is implemented and when. It will be interesting to see how lawmakers and the Department of Education react to this letter.