Dear Jon: New Common Core standards puzzling to some
The new Common Core was born out of a desire for students K-12 in the United States to compete in the global economy. But there’s still some confusion as to just what are the “Common Core state standards.” Martin wrote to me and asked, “Dear Jon, what are the common core standards that are being implemented in elementary and middle schools?”
The national Governors Association in conjunction with state educators, parents and the public embarked on a process in 2009 to create a common set of educational standards in each discipline in every state in the union. That’s basically reading, writing, arithmetic and science.
The goal was for students to achieve in education at each step of the way in a common standard with each state. This would allow students to not lose ground if they move to another state, be assessed along the educational ladder commonly with other students to ensure they’re meeting the standard and be prepared to enter college or career at a level necessary to compete in the global workforce. The Common Core focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful.
At present 45 states, including California, the District of Columbia and four territories, have voluntarily adopted the Common Core state standards for English, Literacy, Social Studies, History, Science and Math.
Having moved with my family from state to state during their school years, there were times my children were either ahead of the state we moved to or behind. With Common Core state standards, families would not have that issue. Students will benefit greatly in moving their education forward.
If you go to the State of California’s Department of Education Website and search for the Common Core standards, you’ll get more information than you probably want. But you’ll get the picture quickly on what California has done to adopt the Common Core state standards.
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