The Common Core State Standards

Since 2010, there were 45 states that have adopted the same educational standards called Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and seeks to establish consistent education standards across the states. The Common Core Standards is initiative state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English and Mathematical standards. These standards help to educate all of the students equally, they help children who move from state to state, as well as they help to prepare students for college and workplace. The common core standard helps to provide a clear understanding

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a voluntary state led initiative that looks to establish clear expectations for learning in grades kindergarten through twelfth that are standard from state to state. The purpose of the standards is to make certain that there is uniformity in student proficiency and high school graduates have the know-how and ability needed for college and a competitive workforce in the twenty-first century. Along with forty-three other states and the District of Columbia, Mississippi adopted CCSS in 2011 in English and mathematics (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010).

The goal of the Common Core State Standards is to prepare students for college and work expectations and help them compete and succeed in a global economy and society. Furthermore, this policy has shaped current educational thinking by providing established learning standards with rigorous content and application of higher knowledge through higher order thinking skills.

What is Common Core? According to the Common Core organization website, the Common Core is a set of high-quality standards in Math and English. The goals laid in place by the Common Core govern what information a student should know, and what skills they should be able to perform at the end of each grade. With no regard to student background, or where they came from, the standards were constructed to ensure that all students enter the real-world with proper knowledge and skills in which are essential to succeed. In 2009, state school chiefs and governors that recognized the value and need for collaborated and coinciding goals across the nation coordinated a state-led effort to create the Common Core State Standards.

In 2009, states around the country began adopting the Common Core State Standards. These standards were put in place to ensure that each child was on the same academic level by high school graduation. As the global marketplace becomes increasingly more competitive, the United States hopes that Common Core will enable the coming generations to be better prepared. As of right now, my working thesis is Common Core is overall unsuccessful in its effort, and discontinuing or, at the least, replacing it would improve the testing scores /academic progresses, mental health, and attitude towards school of the children in the United States. My two articles, “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys (Yet!): Motivating boys in the age of the Common Core,” by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm and Michael W. Smith (2014), and “Why Massachusetts Gave Up on Common Core,” by Mary Clare Reim (2015), both provide evidence on Common Core to support my thesis.

Common Core State Standards is being heard throughout the education world. Many cringe when the words are spoken and many fight to support what the words stand for. Common Core was introduced in 2009 by state leaders. Common Core State Standards were developed to prepare children for the business world or the reality after grade school. “The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy, also known as ELA” (About the Standards, n.d.). The goals for the standards outline what students should know before leaving his or her current grade level. “The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live” (About the Standards, n.d.). This is an ambitious goal, but with much support can be accomplished. According to Common Core State Standards Initiative (n.d.) The Common Core has been adopted by forty-two states already and is accompanied by District of Columbia and Department of Defense Education Activity. Common Core was developed to improve the academics in society’s schools. Academics in the past years have not been successful and the United States has fallen behind international education. “One root cause has been an uneven patchwork of academic standards that vary from state to state and do not agree on what students should know and be able to do at each

There has always been a great emphasis and focus placed on the education system in the US because of how it helps grows and develops the abilities and potential of the future generation. However, there have been major shortcomings in the American educational system that has caused the US to stagnate in the education market. Thus the Common Core State Standards was created to counter this lack of proficiency and consistency in education that was seen throughout the country. The Common Core was developed in 2009 by state leaders, governors and commissioners of education from 48 states (P&R "Policy & Research." Common Core State Standards Policy Initiative). It is a set of high-quality academic standards and mathematics and English

Voices across the country are raising concerns about the new Common Core State Standards. But if you listen carefully to the conversations, the main concern is not about the standards, themselves, but about the consequences of high-stakes tests attached to the standards. And those concerns are well-founded. Trying to implement goals for deeper learning through an outdated testing model tied to a long list of punishments for children, educators, and schools is like pouring new wine into old bottles. It will certainly turn sour. The Common Core, for those of you unaware, is a set of “standards”, skills and requirements children need to understand by the end of the school year. Here 's the thing, The Common Core standards do not specify the

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was adapted in 2009, it was made to make the education system more cohesive across the country 43 states have adopted it, there were previously 45 states that used it but 2 of them have dropped it. It was designed to better prepare students for college, their careers and more. According to Burks et al. there was a stud done and 55% of instructors and teachers said there training for Common Core State Standards was insufficient. How do they expect educators to teach in a style that most they don’t even understand themselves? Common Core State Standards is an up and coming change in the education system in the U.S., like all change there is negative and positive effects it will have on education. Common core has a bug focus on students ability to transfer information, it will also help them understand what they are learning and why, however, it will lead to more standardize test which is already overused, some states will have to lower their standards and educators are already leaving the profession to avoid dealing with the change.

“Common Core State Standards Initiative” is a result of the “Standards and Accountability Movement” which began in the 1990s in the United States. This particular branch of education reforms was geared towards expectations of learning at each grade level. The Standards and Accountability Movement not only brought attention on what students were expected to learn, but on teachers as well – focusing on how teachers were to implement lessons and able to teach for student achievement which would be measured in

Common Core is the curriculum most children born in the 21st century have taken. The Common Core is the most recent update in America’s school system. The Common Core State Standards, also known as CCSS, is changing the way schools teach and learn. Currently, forty six states have adapted the curriculum. The system is run by the nation 's governors through the organizations “The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA)” and “The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).” It is standardized to raise the bar to fit everyone’s educational needs, which is all done through testing electronically. State tests require that all the students answer the same questions that are scored consistently. The goals for the Common Core include helping students in a way to prepare for the future, and to advance their skills and knowledge. Realistically, it has been negatively affecting students, schools, and teachers. Although the area of government that created these standards and tests have decided they are the best choices, critics have disagreed with the given standards. The Common Core State Standards are too advanced and rushed, which have led to stress in students and teachers since its inception, therefore should be repealed by all states with implementation of the CCSS.

Math is a universal subject which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as "the science of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, and abstractions and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations, and generalizations." Distinctly, the Oxford Dictionaries defines mathematics as “the abstract science of number, quantity, and space.” One thing that is clear amongst both these definitions is that math is complex and cannot be defined so loosely, which is why I find it difficult defining the literacy of mathematics. However, after reviewing the standards, I have attempted to do so. Being literate in mathematics means that one can count, compare and contrast numbers, understand and

Desks are aligned individually in rows facing a chalkboard. A red-shiny apple is sitting on the teachers table. Along the multi-color walls are students work. In the back corner of the room there are a few computers. Students are prepped to take an online test. No paper, no pencil. The work is all done on a computer. What was the “old” technique of learning has transition into a “new” way. This new tool is a way to improve a students’ education. It has been voluntary adopted by over 40 states. The standards serve as one of the most promising learning method in years in effort to improve our country’s school system. The question is whether the Common Core standard should be implemented as a nation-wide requirement

As an administrator, introducing and implementing common core standards will produce challenges for all stakeholders. “A well-documented finding from studies of organizations of all kinds is that their members resist change” (Lunenburg & Ornstein, pg. 186). As a change agent, I will be faced with staff members who are resistant to change because they may view it as threatening. The ability to fail as a change agent is another challenge. If the change initiatives are not implemented correctly, this may cause the implementation to become a disaster.

As pre-service teachers it is important to keep up to date with the standards and how they can affect our cooperating teacher's students as well as our own future students. It is never too early to start learning information that will improve your ability to increase your ability to teach students better in the long run. Also with all the changes going on with Common Core, it is ever changing and thusly even more important to keep up to date with because these are the guides to which we will be building our lessons upon in the future and really even now. Understanding the Common Core is also a good idea because they can be confusing and starting early gives us a better chance at being able to use them in an effective was in the future by understanding