History questions and new education standards

Common core education standards, now adopted by 45 states, arrive in two years at the Oconee School District. And Dianne England, assistant superintendent for instruction, says the district is preparing now to meet a states initiated set of standards that’ll place students on an even-playing field, with the end goal to prepare them for college and career. England says it’s a good thing. What’s not so good, in the opinion of Dr. Mike Lucas, county superintendent, however, is the difficulty of questions contained in this year’s end-of-course history test, especially the weight the results carry toward a student’s graduation. Lucas gave reporters nine sample questions and challenged them to get them right. About one-half of the students who take the test fail.