Christie Calls for End to Common Core Standards in NJ

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is calling for an end to the Common Core education standards in New Jersey.

Gov. Christie told an audience at Burlington County College that the system isn't working for New Jersey's students, and that the national standards have brought confusion to the classroom, as well as parents.

The Governor said he'd ask the state's Education Commissioner, David Hespe, to convene a group of parents, teachers and educators to come up with new, state-specific education standards.

"We all want to provide to our students an education based on standards that the people who know them best have developed and implemented," the Governor said.

However, NJ Spotlight education writer John Mooney says those standards will likely be markedly similar to Common Core.

"Other states have gone through this as well," Mooney told WNYC's Julianne Welby. "They've, in the end, readopted the Common Core, just with their states' name on them."

Left untouched in the Governor's reform is the controversial PARCC exam, which is aligned to Common Core's standards. Gov. Christie says New Jersey will continue to administer the test, which saw its debut this year.

The Governor had previously been a strong supporter of Common Core, a position that he's been repeatedly pressed on as he readies a likely presidential campaign.