West Elementary students are seen in February 2017.

The 9-year-old Common Core State Standards Initiative may be on the way out in Alabama after the state Senate voted overwhelming to repeal the academic guidelines from public schools beginning in 2021.

After next week’s spring break, the Alabama House will get a shot at Common Core. The Common Core standards are math and English benchmarks adopted by more than 40 states to describe what students should know after completing each grade. The standards were developed by the National Governors Association but became a frequent target of Republicans after the Obama administration pushed states to adopt them.

Several states have since repealed Common Core because of concerns that test scores were not improving.

According to a study released by the Pioneer Institute, the standards themselves are sound, but the method of implementation has failed to deliver improvements in literacy, while numeracy has actually declined, because of the imposition of mediocre curriculum sequences used in a number of mid-performing states. Other institutions believe Common Core sets a higher standard in English and math, but that some states have not aligned their practices to allow it to work.

Before the Senate voted to repeal Common Core, Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, came forward with a two-page amendment that addressed most of the concerns raised by the School Superintendents of Alabama. The amendments were accepted and drew praise from the SSA.

The amendment will move Alabama away from Common Core standards. Gudger’s amendment also addressed concerns that the bill would inadvertently bar Alabama from utilizing programs like AP tests and national certifications and exams. The amendment, which was accepted, also pushes the repeal to the 2021-2022 school year.

State Rep. Randall Shedd, R-Fairview, said Gudger’s amendment addressed a lot of concerns among educators and was a timely move before the repeal could occur.

“Sen. Gudger deserves a lot of credit with what he did. He showed he had the understanding needed to address the education community’s concern,” Shedd said.

“I was able to add the amendment before the vote. The goal leaves some things in place that are valuable to educators and provides more time to develop what the new standards will be,” Gudger said.

The bill’s sponsor, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, said the goal in repealing Common Core is to create standards that work.

“It’s time to move on,” said Marsh, a Republican from Anniston. “We need to clear the slate. Just go ahead and get this out of the way. Let’s focus on new standards for the state that are going to solve these problems.”

Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, a Democrat from Mobile, criticized the rush to approve the bill she said was about “politics.”

“We all know you are getting ready to run for U.S. Senate,” Figures said.

Marsh is considering a 2020 run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Doug Jones.

Shedd said he intends to talk in length with Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey to learn more of his view and ideas for new standards in education.

“I feel like Eric Mackey stepped in and has done a good job and is working to move us forward,” Shedd said. “I think we’ve all had a lot of concerns over Common Core, and there are positives and negatives.”

The bill was approved on a vote that fell largely along party lines after the GOP-dominated Senate voted to cut off debate and force a vote.

A House committee could take up the bill sometime in early April when lawmakers return from spring break.

A portion of this story was taken from an Associated Press report.