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Committee Hammers Out Process for Developing Common Core Replacement

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A steering committee works to lay out the process of establishing Oklahoma’s new math and language arts standards for grades K–12.

State Board of Education member Lee Baxter said during the meeting that the group needed to keep its goal in mind.

"So, if we get the process right, we're going to get the standards right," Baxter said. "And we ought not worry so much about what the standard's going to be, because you won't know it when you see it and neither will I."

The committee is largely following recommendations it heard the day before, including having post-secondary content experts involved.

Members said the most important decision will be selecting the chairs of the math and English language arts writing teams. Baxter wants to defer to Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Chancellor Glen Johnson.

"We might go to that guy and say, 'Could you point out, you know, three of your best math professors and ELA professors?' and see if we can't get them involved that way," Baxter said. "That'd be my way of getting the best guy. I sure as hell wouldn't want to pick him."

The committee hopes to have a first draft of the new K–12 standards by June. Johnson said provisions in state law mean the new standards must be written with plenty of time left over.

"It is saying there needs to be an evaluation, which contemplates a separate review," Johnson said. "So we need to incorporate that into the timeline."

The separate review of the new standards would be carried out by state bodies, including the board of education and the commerce department. The steering committee is looking at August for a final draft.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.