At Resounding Books, we don't endorse candidates. However, we do vet candidates on issues that matter to us. Where we feel it's crucial, we share the information. As a Wisconsin-based organization, we've taken a particular interest in Scott Walker, who currently serves our state as governor. We've had a front-row seat to what Walker has and hasn't done on Common Core and related educational "reforms." As someone who will likely soon be announcing a candidacy for president in 2016, we feel his record on this issue is something about which our friends and readers should be aware.

On June 19th, Jeffrey D. Horn, a Wisconsin resident and contributing author to our inaugural book, Common Ground on Common Core, published an article on the website Stop Common Core in Wisconsin exposing new and crucial information related to the governor's actions on education. Entitled "Scott Walker's Smarter Balanced Deception," the article decimates the governor's claim that he is undermining Common Core in Wisconsin by defunding, via the currently proposed 2015-2017 biennial budget, the state's participation in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).

What Horn demonstrates, using hard evidence, is that, despite Governor Walker's public statements, Wisconsin's executive branch is already seeking Common Core-aligned replacement assessments for SBAC. Moreover, the quotes Horn cites make plain that Walker fully understands that to test against the Common Core is to entrench the Common Core. It's damning stuff, and the governor has some explaining to do about the fact that he's essentially lied, at this point, not just to the good people of Wisconsin but also to an entire national voting population.

The article is long but wisely thorough. It even includes screen shots and links to the labyrinthine efforts taken to mask which standards the State of Wisconsin is actually asking bidders to leverage in writing new assessments.

For those wondering if Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction is simply acting unilaterally in relationship to the new assessments, Horn's careful work, including his June 14th publication of a separate timeline that traces key events in the Wisconsin fight against Common Core, makes it very difficult to let the governor off the hook so easily.

It's information every voter ought to read and consider, particularly those concerned about education. We hope visitors to this blog will take the time to do so and to share with others the insights and evidence Horn provides. If there's one thing we can no longer afford, it's to be fooled by pretty words when actions and the facts surrounding them tell a much fuller truth.