developers of the Common Core never had any involvement with the textbook companies
Wellllllllllll...
sort of.
While that is nominally so, there is a definite linkage between companies like Pearson and the architecture under the roll-out of CCSS. There IS money in there, and there HAVE been links between the CCSS construction and those same educational providers, corporate players in the big leagues, all of them.
They HAVE probably (IMO) had undue influence on the reconstruction of curriculum which is aligned with CCSS, and certainly with the assessment arm. In fact, the latter provides fairly rich scandal broth even now, and I imagine that is only going to get worse as the investigations into that proceed in places other than NY.
But again-- it didn't need to be this way. IF administrators at the regional/local level had simply gotten it together back when this all emerged on the horizon (in 2008 or 2009) then they wouldn't have NEEDED to be in a panic and looking for "classroom-ready" curricular materials in 2012.
