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Howie Hawkins wants to do away with standardized testing

Ryan Delaney
/
WRVO
Green Party candidate for governor Howie Hawkins

The Green Party candidate for governor, Howie Hawkins, doesn’t just want to do away with the Common Core education curriculum, but as much standardized testing as possible.

That dislike for Common Core is one of the few things Hawkins and Republicans can agree on. Both he and the GOP candidate for governor, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, want to see the national benchmarks for English and math learning be revoked.

"I’m different than Astorino. He’s talking about setting up our own standardized tests and assessments in New York. And I think we just have to get away from that and let the teachers teach and let them design the assessments," he said.

He says New York is too big for statewide standards, though Hawkins admits he wouldn’t be able to eliminate standardized tests the federal government mandates.

"Let the local teachers and parents and school boards and people who care the most about their local school children and the make decisions about standards, curriculum and assessments," Hawkins said.

More than 40 states have adopted Common Core in order to receive federal education funding tied to the curriculum. But Hawkins is still against it, despite the potential funding loss.

The Common Core’s rollout has been criticized for requiring too much testing and not preparing teachers.

Republicans in the state even created a new "Stop Common Core" party ballot line for the November election.