Common Core State Standards Analysis

The word curriculum can mean something different to different people, even to different teachers who use the term almost daily (Manning & Butcher, 2012). However, it boils down to curriculum being what a student learns, both in terms of core subject content, as well as though social activity and elective/activity courses. However, there has often been a disconnect between different states and districts over what exactly should be in the curriculum for various grades and what is needed to prepare students for life beyond school, as well as providing little basis for comparing the US to other countries. That’s where Common Core State Standards (CCSS) come in. According to Teaching in the Middle School (2012), the Common Core standards were created in an attempt to provide curriculum standards that are “rigorous, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations”. Since its implementation in 2009, 42 US states and the District of Columbia have integrated the standards into their curriculums. (Core Standards, 2015)

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.

RL.9-10.1.1-7 Reading closely informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine how meaning is conveyed and explicit and implicit through language.

According to the National Education Association (2017) The common core state standards benefit all students because it provides equal access to the same curriculum as other students across the nation. The standards focus specifically on English Language Arts and Mathematics. The Common Core is designed to encompass a clear set of broad standards to prepare students for post-secondary opportunities. The standards were meant to be more challenging than current set of standards in each state and to provide clarity and consistency about what was expected of students at each grade level.

Prior to writing this response paper, I had no pre-existing knowledge revolving around Common Core other than the negative ideas and opinions I’ve only vaguely heard, often including photos of honestly outrageous equations. What exactly is Common Core, according to them, and what is the goal? By definition, the Common Core State Standards Initiative details a list of subjects for students kindergarten through twelfth grade to have learned the by the end of each specific grade. The ultimate goal is to be certain that students across all of the states receive the same education and reach the same requirements in order to be prepared for college work; or, rather, the standardized tests that will determine whether or not they are even granted access into college in the first place.

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.

requires students to develop higher critical thinking skills. Jobs may be on the line if students do

The Common Core State Standards are considered to be a high-quality group of academic standards. Before the standards were developed, it seemed as if the progress of the students in the United States was remaining stagnant and that America students were falling behind their international peers. The blame for this setback has fallen on the fact that standards are not consistent and from state-to-state students are required to know different things at different grade levels. As a result students are not graduating with the same set of skills (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014).

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

A political issue right now being argued over is if Common Core national education standards should be adopted by all states. The majority of Democrats support the adoption of Common Core standards while the vast majority of Republicans are against it. The Common Core State Standards states what K-12 students should know in Math and English at the end of the each grade, and to put in standardized tests. Whether or not these standards are put in place can determine if students succeed. Common Core will not allow teachers to individualize their lessons to help students learn the way they will understand best. These standards should not be adopted by all states.

The Common Core State Standards are a state attempt to create strong educational standards. The standard are created to ensure that students in the country are learning and grasping the information that are given in the classrooms for them to succeed academically. The Common Core plan included governors and education commissioners form forty-eight states and the District of Columbia. They wanted to make sure the standards are relevant, logical and sequential. For content all subjects must have critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Some positive aspects of this policy is that it prepares our students for a competitive global jobs. It can provide national connections in education. Designed to shape the best standards so that all states will be taking a step ahead in education. These standards had been created after extensive research by professional educators for excellence in education. The CCS focus on what students expectations of learning, and achievements. Educators do not need to worry that the standards will make their jobs look redundant because they are in charge of creating lessons to teach their students the content and skills that the CCS demands. The teachers do not feel that the standards are one-size-fits-all. Some negative aspects of the policy are that is a program created by solely the government. The CCS is a program put together on idyllic situations in education by individuals who have subsidy and students ahead of the learning

According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, their curriculum “provide[s] clear and consistent learning goals to help prepare students for college, career and life” (“Preparing America’s Students for Success”). However, Kim Burke, who owns a tutoring company in North Carolina, states, “‘There’s not a person alive who can read Common Core from page to page and understand it’” (Bonner). The Common Core State Standards are supposed to be clear and understandable, but teachers, students and parents alike can not understand them and what they are ask of the student. Common Core was launched in 2009, in hope to create a common curriculum across the United States and to compete with other nations that have one curriculum. Since 2009, Common