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can very much be a distraction from what matters
most. These initiatives are based on good intentions
and are cloaked in the concept of accountability, but
unfortunately most do little to actually improve
teaching and learning. Most are designed to assess,
measure, rank and otherwise place some largely
meaningless number on a child or a school or a
teacher or a district. That is not to say that student
growth data is not important. It is very critical, and it is
exactly why we have our own local assessment
system in place. It is what our principals and teachers
use to help guide instruction and meet the needs of
your kids on a daily basis. In other words, it is
meaningful data to help us teach your child.”
The Missouri Association of School Administrators
requested his permission to send his letter to school
superintendents in the “Show Me” state, and the letter
attracted the attention of local and national media,
including the Chicago Tribune and the Washington
Post. The Trib headline read “Common Core criticism
‘struck a chord,’ Peru school chief says.” But Cross
clarified that the letter really wasn’t even a swipe at
Common Core.
“It was about the over-reach of the feds and the
state,” he said. “I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be
national standards or that the state and feds don’t
have some role, but it’s been flipped on its head with
things like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top.”
It might surprise some to know that Cross is a firm
believer in accountability for public schools.
“I am a big believer in accountability,” he said.
“But I think we should be accountable primarily to the
people who are paying for our schools, and in most
cases in Illinois that would be local taxpayers and the
locally elected boards of education.”
Cross said that student test scores should be a
part of that accountability, but not the only part or not
even the biggest part. He thinks a survey of parents,
which his district utilized this summer, is another way
to measure accountability. As the superintendent of a
pre-K-8 elementary district, he thinks hearing from the
staff at the junior high and high school regarding how
well prepared their students are is another good
measure. When he was a principal at Roanoke-
Benson High School, they surveyed their former
Judging from his desk, it’s not like Superintendent Mark Cross has lots of time to write letters.
