The Common Core State Standards

Overview:

• WHAT are the standards?
• WHY were they created?
• HOW are they implemented?
• WHO created them & who do they target?

Overview: (Cont.)

• Key differences between Common Core and former standards.
• Key differences between standards, benchmarks, and indicators.
• An example of how these standards have been interpreted and made usable.
• An explanation of the impact on teachers and students.

WHAT:
> Designed to ensure students are prepared for entry-level careers, freshman-level college courses, and workforce training programs
("What parents should know," Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.).

WHAT:
> Designed to develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills to help students be successful.

WHAT:
> The standards create a way for teachers to measure student progress.

WHAT:
> Forty-three states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have voluntarily adopted and are moving forward with the standards.
("What Parents Should Know" - Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.)

WHY:
"To ensure all students are ready for success after high school, the (standards) establish clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade"
("What Parents Should Know" - Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.).

HOW:
- Work to develop standards began in 2009.
- Standards development workgroups were created.
- Workgroups were guided by three ideas:
1) The best standards were already available,
2) Draw upon the experience of industry professionals,
3) Obtain feedback from the general public
(Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.)

HOW: (Cont.)
- A criteria was set to guide the workgroups in the creation of standards.
“The standards as a whole must be essential, rigorous, clear and specific, coherent, and internationally benchmarked” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.).
- Final standards were released in June 2010. Afterwards, the states and territories began their own review process of the standards.

WHO:
The Common Core Standards were NOT developed by a small group of people. The creation of the standards we have today are a cumulative work of:

> State leaders

> State chief school officers

> Work groups and feedback groups - comprised of industry specialists such as college professors, superintendents, education specialists, K-12 teachers, librarians, education policy consultants, college deans, parents, and the general public (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.)
.

KEY DIFFERENCES: MATH
- Focus: Fewer topics with more pinpointed emphases.
- Coherence: Topics and understandings linked across grades.
- Rigor: Three key points -
1) Conceptual understanding,
2) Procedural skills and fluency, and
3) Application with equal intensity.
("Other Resources" - Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.)

KEY DIFFERENCES: Language Arts and English
> Regular practice with complex texts and academic language

> Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts, both literary and informational

> Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction (a 50/50 mixture)
("Other Resources" - Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.)

Key Differences: STANDARDS, Benchmarks, Indicators

• STANDARDS:
• Core content like math, reading, and science
• States what knowledge and skills K-12 students should learn
• Presented in broad statements

Key Differences: Standards, BENCHMARKS, Indicators (Cont.)

• BENCHMARKS:
• Provide learning targets for a span of grades
• Identifies the knowledge and skills K-12 students should learn
• Detailed statements

Key Differences: Standards, Benchmarks, INDICATORS (Cont.)

• INDICATORS:
• Provide the learning details K-12 students should learn at each grade
• Identifies the knowledge and skills K-12 students should learn
• Detailed statements

How have the standards been interpreted

LEARNING:
“To ensure all students are prepared for success after graduation, the Common Core establishes a set of clear, consistent guidelines for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level in math and English Language Arts” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012, n.p.)

LEARNING: (Cont.)
> Because of the alignment of Common Core Standards across the nation, students are more likely to be equally prepared for post-secondary expectations

> Future generations of American students will be on track with international as well as national standards.


> The consistency for students who move schools will be increased due to more uniform expectations

TEACHING:
- The Common Core Standards create common goals for teachers
- They allows teachers to have consistent expectations for new students
- They create opportunities for collaboration among teachers from different areas
- They provide more concrete guidelines to help universities prepare future teachers

FOR EXAMPLE…
Pre-Reading vs. Re-Reading:
> Before the Common Core was implemented, Pre-Reading with a highly used practice with English Language Arts teachers
> The Common Core places more emphasis on re-reading a text several times with activities in between to help increase perspective and understanding

FOR EXAMPLE…
Pre-Reading vs. Re-Reading (Cont.):
> A common myth among teachers has been that the emphasis on “close reading” or “re-reading” activities bans “pre-reading” approaches to reading lessons

FOR EXAMPLE…
Pre-Reading vs. Re-Reading (Cont.):
> What we actually find is the Common Core in no way bans pre-reading approaches. It simply adds a component of re-reading a text several times with activities in between to add context and perspective to the text.

FOR EXAMPLE…
Pre-Reading vs. Re-Reading (Cont.):
> “Although it may have made sense to thoroughly prepare students to get everything they could from a text they were going to read a single time, that kind of preparation isn’t necessary if students will be going back to the well two or three times” (Shanahan, 2012, n.p.).

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS EXAMPLE?
Teaching and learning will be affected by these standards, but when we look close enough, we will find ties to the previously prominent approaches that are likely to be enhanced by the new alignment and equal if not higher standards set forth by the CCSS.

The Impact the Adoption of the CCSS Will Have on Teachers and Students in Schools.

ADMINISTRATORS:
> Must have a plan for success in place that includes providing rich professional development opportunities for teachers,
> Logistically prepared in areas such as technology and curriculum
> Get community buy into embrace the importance of the Common Core.
> Those administrators who do not prepare for the Common Core Standards could end up losing their job if their students do not perform adequately.

TEACHERS (Core Subjects):
> Change their approach altogether in the classroom in order for their students to succeed on the Common Core Standards assessments.
> Teachers will have to create lessons that include higher level thinking skills and writing components to a generation, who are resistant to those two things.
> There will be more pressure than ever placed on teachers whose students do not perform adequately on the assessments.
> This could lead to teachers being fired.

TEACHERS (Non-Core):


> They too are included.

> Due to pressure to improve test scores from Common Core assessments, many schools could choose to end these programs to allow more instructional time or intervention time in the core areas.

STUDENTS:
+ Dealing with change.

+ Dealing with increased pressures.

+ Loss of specials & extracurricular activities.

+ School will be more difficult.

Can We Do This?

YES! OF COURSE!

References:
- Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015, About the standards: development process. Retrieved electronically from: http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/development-process/
- Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2012). Other resrouces - Key Shifts. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/other-resources/key-shifts-in-mathematics/
- Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2012). Implementing the common core state standards (FAQ’s). Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/resources/frequently asked-questions
- Iowa Department of Education, 2014, Standards, benchmarks and grade level indicators. Retrieved electronically from: https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/no-child-left-behind/standards-benchmarks...
- Shanahan, T. (2012). The Common Core at my baby and other urban legends, Educational Leadership, 70(4), 10-16.