Common refrain getting old

The Hutchinson (Kansas) News: The so-called “Common Core” educational standards that Kansas has adopted for its K-12 curriculum may have shortcomings, but simply because they were created at the national level isn’t a reason on its own to junk them barely two years into their implementation.

But rejecting anything that comes out of Washington is a troubling trend in Kansas politics.

Common Core standards were the answer to what seemed to be nearly universal distaste for “No Child Left Behind,” and their adoption is at state’s prerogative. Kansas chose to go to Common Core along with almost all other states in the country.

Yet some legislators think they know what’s best for public education and have introduced a bill to force the Kansas State Board of Education to scrap Common Core.

No one much liked No Child, so states — including Kansas — developed Common Core, and Kansas voluntarily adopted it. As for other alleged deficiencies, those are addressed online.

That it came from Washington so it must be bad is a simplistic and foolish basis on which to make decisions. Lawmakers themselves should apply more critical thinking than that.