Story by Teresa Wasson, Director of Communications at State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Expect More, Achieve More Coalition released a petition on February 26 that has been signed by more than 9,000 Tennesseans who support the Common Core State Standards.

The online petition, which was presented to members of the Tennessee General Assembly, urges state officials to keep pushing ahead with the new standards, which are in the third year of implementation in the state’s public schools.

Tennessee adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010 to help ensure that public school students graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary education and a career. Teaching and learning focus on critical thinking, strong reading and writing, and problem-solving – the real-world skills that it is believed students need upon graduation. The standards were created after leaders from multiple states launched the effort to raise critical thinking in 2008. Since that time, 45 states have chosen to adopt them.

The Expect More, Achieve More Coalition is a statewide alliance of more than 400 business, community, and education organizations in Tennessee described as “working for high academic standards in public education.” The petition effort was coordinated by Stand for Children Tennessee, a coalition member.

The petition signers represent all sections of the state.

“Our students deserve the most rigorous instruction stemming from the highest expectations we hold for them,” Linda Kennard of Memphis said when she signed the petition.

“Being a Core Coach I have seen firsthand the engagement of students in texts that challenge them and come out of the class still debating the topic. That’s engagement!” wrote petition signer Sandra Farlow of Cleveland, Tenn.

“The children of Tennessee deserve to receive an education that truly prepares them to be ready for life beyond high school,” Mary Truka of Hendersonville said. “ACT scores prove that our students are not adequately prepared.”

The most recent ACT results show that only 18 percent of Tennessee’s 2013 high school graduates were prepared for all college subjects.