State-led and developed common core standards for K-12 in English/language arts and mathematics

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Common Core State Standards Initiative

• State-led and developed common core standards for
  K-12 in English/language arts and mathematics
• Initiative led by the Council of Chief State
  School Officers (CCSSO) and National Governors
  Association (NGA)

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• What are educational standards?
• Why do they matter?

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State-led Initiative

• States in the drivers seat
• The federal government did not develop the
  standards or require their adoption.

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Why do we need common standards? Why now?

• Disparate standards across states
• Todays jobs require different skills
• Global competition
• For many young people, a high school degree isnt
  preparing them for college or a good job.

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Why is This Important for Students, Teachers,
and Parents?

• Prepares students with the knowledge and skills
  they need to succeed in college and work
• Ensures consistent expectations regardless of a
  students zip code
• Provides educators, parents, and students with
  clear, focused guideposts
• Offers economies of scale

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Features of the Standards

• Aligned with college and work expectations
• Focused and coherent
• Include rigorous content and application of
  knowledge through high-order skills
• Build upon strengths and lessons of current state
  standards
• Based on evidence and research
• Internationally benchmarked
• Should be read to allow the widest possible range
  of students to participate fully

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Foundation for the Standards

• Aligned with college and work expectations
• Prepare students for success in entry-level,
  credit-bearing, academic college courses (2- and
  4- year postsecondary institutions)
• Prepare students for success in careers that
  offer competitive, livable salaries above the
  poverty line, opportunities for career
  advancement, and are in growing or sustainable
  industries

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Standards Development Process

• College- and career-readiness standards for
  English/language arts and mathematics developed
  summer of 2009
• Based on the college and career readiness
  standards, K-12 standards for each grade were
  developed
• Continual input throughout the process from
  states, educators, and business and higher
  education leaders
• Public comment period with nearly 10,000
  responses
• Final standards released on June 2, 2010

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42 states and D.C. have fully adopted the Common
Core State Standards 1 state has provisionally
adopted the standards and 1 state has adopted
only the ELA standards.
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• Whats in the Standards

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Applications

• Applications for English language learners
• Learn academic content while learning English.
  English proficiency is not a prerequisite to
  students achieving the goals laid out in the
  standards.
• Application for students with disabilities
• Students with disabilities are a heterogeneous
  group with one common characteristic the
  presence of disabling conditions that
  significantly hinder their abilities to benefit
  from general education. (IDEA 34 CFR 300.39,
  2004) Therefore, how these high standards are
  taught and assessed is of the utmost importance
  in reaching this diverse group of students.
• Promoting a culture of high expectations for
  all students is a fundamental goal of the Common
  Core State Standards.

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• STANDARDS FOR
• ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA)
• LITERACY IN HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES, SCIENCE, AND
  TECHNICAL SUBJECTS

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Design and Organization

• Introduction
• Description of capacities of a literate student
  (e.g., demonstrate independence, come to
  understand other perspectives and cultures)
• Three main sections
• K-5 cross-disciplinary
• 6-12 English language arts
• 6-12 literacy in history/social studies, science,
  and technical subjects
• Three appendices
• A Research and evidence glossary of key terms
• B Reading text exemplars sample performance
  tasks
• C Annotated student writing samples

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ELA Key Advances

• Reading
• Balance of literature and informational texts
• Text complexity
• Writing
• Emphasis on argument and informative/explanatory
  writing
• Writing about sources
• Standards for reading and writing in history/
• social studies, science, and technical subjects
• Complement rather than replace content standards
• in those subjects
• Responsibility of teachers in those subjects

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• MATHEMATICS
• STANDARDS

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Design and Organization

• Standards for Mathematical Practice
• Carry across all grade levels
• Describe habits of mind of a mathematically
  expert student
• Standards for Mathematical Content
• K-8 standards presented by grade level
• High school standards presented by conceptual
  theme
• Appendix
• Designing high school math courses based on the
  Common Core State Standards

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Math Key Advances

• Focus in early grades on number (arithmetic and
  operations) to build a solid foundation in math
• Evened out pace across the grades
• Focus on using math and solving complex problems,
  similar to what would see in the real world in
  high school
• Emphasis on problem-solving and communication