“World class academic standards are helping ensure that every single student is held to the same high expectations- and given the solid educational foundation-they need to succeed in both school and career” (Rust, 2013). These are the words of Ed Rust, chairman and CEO of a major corporation, State Farm Mutual, when speaking about the Common Core State Standards. “The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA)” (About, n.d.). The Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, is reforming education in that it outlines common goals and understandings for students all across the nation. Educational standards aren’t a new idea; state standards were first in the early 1990’s, but each state was different. This meant that one states definition of proficient could be completely different from another’s. Nationally, students in the same grade were learning different skills and finishing each grade with vastly different abilities. Implementation of the CCSS is the reform education needed and will prepare students for 21st century learning and lifelong career skills across the nation.
The Common Core State Standards have made tremendous gains for the world of education. Students nationwide are learning the same standards and skill sets. Nationwide standards are clearly necessary, so one state isn’t far more advanced or lagging behind other states. Not only has the Common Core provided national standards, it has created rigorous standards that encourage critical thinking, and prepare students for college curriculum and careers pursued after their schooling. Before Common Core, teachers could teach anything they wanted without purpose and support. CCSS have required teachers to b...
... middle of paper ...
...ments takes place throughout the entire school year as teachers implement the CCSS. I now have a better understanding of the rigor found in these new assessments, and will strive to prepare my students for these assessments the best I can. I know that if I let the Common Core and 21st century learning skills guide my instruction, my students will be prepared for these challenging assessments.
Smarter Balanced is a better assessment than MontCAS CRT for the current world of education. Teachers are shaping their lessons around the Common Core every day, so students practice these skills all year. Students should be assessed on the new skills and standards they are learning, as these are the skills to be college and career ready. These assessments are aligned excellently with CCSS and 21st century skills by incorporating critical thinking, creativity, and technology.
Forty-two states have adopted Common Core State Standards. These standards were created to focus only on English and Mathematics. In effect of states adopting Common Core Standards, all other subjects taught in school seemed less important. History and Science standards are no longer stressed. Students are limited to being proficient in only two subjects. The Common Core deprives students’ ability to be skilled in multiple areas. These standards do not provide a slight “break” from the challenging fast past teaching of English and Mathematics. In addition to limiting education to English and Mathematics, Jill Bowden explains that the Common Core is affecting kindergarteners by taking “away from materials that encourage playful learning.” (36).
The proposed Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act identifies key factors for college and career-ready students. The act asks that states adopt rigorous college and career ready standards in English/language arts and mathematics along with assessments aligned to these standards. In June of 2010, the NGA Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the Common Core State Standards which 45 out of 50 states have currently adopted. Additionally, states are required to develop a system of accountability that rewards successful schools, requires interventions for the lowest-perfor...
the reason why they are learning something, then they will get a greater sense of the
With the common core standards students now will be able to transfer schools and understand what is going on because the Common Core Standard provides a clear understanding to all students of what they are expected to learn. It will provide all of the students with an equal opportunity to learn same curriculum no matter which school they are going to. These standards will not limit the students with different level of achievement among students; instead they will ensure a more consistent exposure to materials and learning experience though instructions and teacher preparation. However, two c...
Cole, H., Hulley, K., & Quarles, P. (2009). Does assessment have to drive the curriculum?
I’m currently enrolled in Montgomery College, located in Maryland. Montgomery College is a community college. Community colleges are different in comparison to four-year universities. I had a choice of either getting a job or going to college. There are many reasons why I choose to go to Montgomery College. I chose to go to college because I want to pursue a degree in Psychology. When choosing a college, there are a lot of decisions to make and you have to choose what’s best in your interest. In today’s society, community colleges take up a lot of the students going to pursue their education. President Obama has proposed to make all community colleges free for all Americans and I agree with this statement. People have different perspectives
Common core is not a new method. America has set standards since at least the 1950’s and many schools have since then implemented a curriculum supporting this ideal. These standards in language arts and mathematics are supposed to help the nation prepare students for college and their future careers. The effects of common core, both positive and negative, lead to the debate on whether or not it should still be implemented in schools today, but thanks to federal funding it has made it hard to get rid of the program. It is because of this that the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal has decided to sue the federal government for violating the 10th amendment. Although many can agree that having standardized goals gives both the students and staff
“To ensure all students are ready for success after high school, the Common Core State 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, n.d.). Children are entering a world that is requiring more and more than before. Society is changing meaning education must change to keep up with society. “The standards were drafted by experts and teachers from across the country and are designed to ensure students are prepared for today’s entry-level careers, freshman-level college courses, and workforce training programs” (What Parents Should Know, n.d.). The focus is to allow students to think critically and be able to problem solve; skills needed in life. The Common Core State Standards are also providing ways for teachers to track each student’s progress as they grow and learn throughout the year. Common Core has many good qualities, but nothing is perfect. There will always be issues no matter the
The Common Cores are set of guidelines that each teacher must meet during each school year. These guidelines are met during exams and other types of testing. In Stop The Madness: On “No Child Left Behind” by Diane Ravitch she begins her argument against the NCLB-No Child Left Behind- saying that it worthless for it forces the school to focus only making test requirements instead of students actually getting the main reason why students that go to school, it is to receive knowledge. “One of the unintended consequences of NCLB was the shrinkage of time available to teach anything other than reading and math...Test scores became an obsession” ( Paragraph 7 Ravitch). The “test scores” are wrecking and straying away from true purpose of the schools around the country. The obsession made many educators focus on more test taking skills then the actual knowledge of the subject in order to reach the stranders that the administration have given them . Despite the test scores, the United States are not high rank in math according to the U.S Math Performance in Global Perspective by the Harvard University and Stanford University. In the US itself, the percentage of students that are taking advanced classes are 11.4% in Massachusetts. This is the highest percentage in the US that students are taking high scores. Yes, not every student has the ability to do the
I took the 3rd grade Smarter Balance assessment exams and I like the questions they have on it compared to the assessments I took during my elementary school years. The questions seem more engaging and meaningful. When I was taking it I felt like I was solving something for myself not just for a test. The questions for me were easy since it was third grade mathematics, but I could see how the problems could challenge the students. Every problem had a logical and real world sense to it, meaning it didn’t just ask for example, “What is 44+15” it included the problem in a real world situation such as a pencil has a mass of 25 grams, and an apple has a mass that is 75 grams more, what is the mass of the apple?” I remember in some of my old assessment
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has caused a shift on what will be focused on in the classroom. These shifts not only affect the mainstream classroom, but the ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom as well. The major change for the ESL classroom and for English Language Learners (ELLs) is a new focus on grade appropriate content area knowledge, instead of just English language proficiency. According to Coleman and Goldenberg (2012), there is little acknowledgement of support for English Language Learners in the CCSS. ESL teachers may or may not feel prepared to teach according to the CCSS. They may also have issues in understanding what the Common Core means for them. One main issue is that the CCSS will dramatically change how ELL and LEP (Limited English Proficiency) populations are taught. It is not the first, and will not be the last attempts to standardize education in the United States.
There are many studies have conducted on the Common Core issue. I am interested in reading and knowing this topic, the Common Core Standards in the American perspective. According to State Standards Initiative, the Common Core State Standards established curricula for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects “the Standards” are the peak of a prolonged effort to carry out the charge supplied by the states to build the generation of K-12 standards to help guarantee that all learners are college and occupation ready in knowledge at the end of high school. (Schutz, n.d.).
The Common Core State Standard is “an education initiative that aims to align state curricula along national standards” (“National Poll Reveals That Cursive Writing Education Is In Danger.”). It is a recent initiative and since then has been well received throughout 45 states in the United ...
Cole, H., Hulley, K., & Quarles, P. (2009). Does assessment have to drive the curriculum?
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a