Understanding Common Core Standards
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a U.S. education initiative that seeks to bring diverse state curricula into alignment with each other by setting academic standards for what students should know and be able to do. Common Core State Standards address the subject areas of English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, Technical Subjects, and Mathematics.
English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
The stated goal of the English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects standards is to ensure that students are college and career ready in literacy no later than the end of high school. There are five key components to the standards for English Language Arts: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Media and Technology.
Mathematics Standards
The stated goal of the mathematics standards is to achieve greater focus and coherence in the curriculum. This is largely in response to the criticism that American mathematics curricula are "a mile wide and an inch deep. " The mathematics Standards include Standards for Mathematical Practice and Standards for Mathematical Content.
History
In the 1990s the "Accountability Movement" began in the US as states started being held to mandatory tests of student achievement, which were expected to demonstrate a common core of knowledge that all citizens should have to be successful. As part of this overarching education reform movement, the nation's governors and corporate leaders founded Achieve, Inc. in 1996 as a bi-partisan organization to raise academic standards, graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability in all 50 states. The initial motivation for the development of the Common Core State Standards was part of the American Diploma Project (ADP).
A report titled, "Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts," from 2004 found that both employers and colleges are demanding more of high school graduates than in the past. According to Achieve, Inc., "current high-school exit expectations fall well short of [employer and college] demands. " The report explains that the major problem currently facing the American school system is that high school graduates were not provided with the skills and knowledge they needed to succeed. The report continues that the diploma itself lost its value because graduates could not compete successfully beyond high school, and that the solution to this problem is a common set of rigorous standards.
In 2009 the National Governors Association convened a group of educators to work on developing the standards. The initiative's stated purpose is to "provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. " Additionally, "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers," which will place American students in a position in which they can compete in a global economy.
Standards were released for mathematics and English language arts in 2010, with a majority of states adopting the standards in the subsequent months. States were given an incentive to adopt the Common Core Standards through the possibility of competitive federal Race to the Top grants. To be eligible, states had to adopt "internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the work place. " This meant that in order for a state to be eligible for these grants, the states had to adopt the Common Core State Standards or similar career and college readiness standards.
Adoption and Implementation
Forty-three of the fifty states in the United States are members of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Texas and Alaska are the only states that have no involvement in Common Core. Nebraska and Virginia are members but have decided not to adopt the standards, and Minnesota rejected the Common Core Standards for mathematics, but accepted the English/Language Arts standards. The standards were adopted in Indiana, but implementation has since been suspended and is under public review. Legislation to repeal Common Core Standards has been initiated in Alabama. Among the territories of the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the American Samoa Islands have adopted the standards while Puerto Rico has not adopted the standards.
Reception
The Common Core has drawn support from political representatives, policy analysts, and educational commentators. Supporters point out that the standards were developed at the state level by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The two groups drew on feedback that was solicited throughout the process and that feedback was incorporated into the standards. The Common Core initiative only specifies what students should know at each grade level and describes the skills that they must acquire in order to achieve college or career readiness. Individual school districts are responsible for choosing curricula based on the standards.
In response to the Common Core standards, the Brookings Institute calls into question whether the standards will have any effect, and "have done little to equalize academic achievement within states. " The libertarian Cato Institute responded to the standards as "it is not the least bit paranoid" to say the federal government wants a national curriculum. Educational analysts from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute determined that the Common Core standards, "are clearly superior to those currently in use in 39 states in math and 37 states in English. For 33 states, the Common Core is superior in both math and reading. " Conservatives, meanwhile, have assailed the program as a federal "top-down" takeover of state and local education systems.
Some educational analysts have also questioned the efficacy of the Common Core. The Heritage Foundation argues that the Common Core's focus on national standards will do little to fix deeply ingrained problems and incentive structures within the education system. One of the National Governors Association's motivating factors for creating the Common Core was the United States' low scores on international tests. However, a study concluded shows no relationship between the United States' low score and its economic position.
Certain educational commentators and mathematicians argue that math textbooks, which are widely adopted across the states, already create "mediocre de facto national standards," and "are often incomprehensible and irrelevant". The Common Core standards, they believe, address these issues and "level the playing field" for students, and point out that adoption of the Common Core Standards and how to best test students are two separate issues.
Teaching the Common Core
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a U.S. education initiative that seeks to bring diverse state curricula into alignment with each other by setting academic standards for what students should know and be able to do. Common Core State Standards address the subject areas of English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, Technical Subjects, and Mathematics.