Common Core Standards Initiative Update

Bill Blynt
Jul 19, 2010

How do the Common Core Standards impact my curriculum?

After receiving over 10,000 comments on the draft K-12 standards released in March 2010, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the new K-12 standards for mathematics and English Language Arts in June 2010. The standards were developed in a collaborative process involving teachers, school administrators and content experts. The goal of developing these Core Standards is to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare current students for college and the workforce.

The standards developed define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers. Students who are able to develop these skills during their K-12 experience should be able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college courses and in workforce training programs. According to the NGA Center and CCSSO, the standards are:

• Aligned with college and work expectations;

• Clear, understandable and consistent;

• Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;

• Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;

• Informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and

• Evidence-based.

The purpose of developing Common Core Standards is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn a common core of knowledge or develop a consistent set of skills no matter in what state they reside. Care was taken to ensure that items included in the standards would provide students graduating from high school what they needed to be successful in college or in a workforce preparation program. Significant attempts were made to benchmark the standards to international standards to ensure that our students are competitive in the global marketplace.

Currently each individual state will choose whether or not to adopt these common core standards. State reactions to the standards have varied from endorsement to opting out completely. Although states have the option of deciding what they will do, federal dollars may have a significant influence on a states ultimate decision.

The Common Core Standards are now in the LEARNING-FOCUSED Toolbox ready for you to prioritize and align!

For general information on the standards go to: www.corestandards.org

To download the standards go to: www.corestandards.org/the-standards

For key points for the ELA standards go to: http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/key-points-in-english-language-arts

For key points for the mathematics standards go to: http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/key-points-in-mathematics