Common Core System Research Paper

Adopted by forty-two out states in 2010, the Common Core State Standard Initiative strives to provide an educational structure which details what English language arts and mathematics should be taught from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The initiative is the federal government’s attempt to ensure all students who graduate from high school are adequately prepared to enter a two or four year college or the workforce. Despite their intentions, the Common Core has caused much controversy in the education community. The thought behind Common Core is very valid and has the potential to help students, however changes must be made to unrealistic standards and wordy statements. Common Core must first be rewritten so that the language is clear and can be easily understood by the general public. Next ask experts on childhood development and elementary school teachers to review the standards and rewrite standards they see as unneeded or irrelevant as well as unrealistic.

Common Core’s supporters and non-supporters can both agree that a change in the United States school system is desperately needed. The United States has fallen behind its peers in the international communities, who participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment, in almost every measurable scholarly subject. Therefore, the United States needs to help its students to become better scholars so they can internationally compete in the business market place. Common Core is also trying to bring a standardization of learning and cohesiveness to all schools across the United States. An argument from non-supporters of the Common Core is that it is removing a teacher’s creative freedom, leaving out student engagement. However, Common Core is not a curriculum and is instead a welcome step in the right direction to help students become adults that are more intelligent.

The Common Core is beneficial to all students, especially for those students interested in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education ‘STEM’ fields. They both teach problem solving skills and focus on learning to use Common Core modules for optimum results. In addition, students learn to think outside the box, they learn how to create a good argument, defend the argument, and look for patterns. Learning these skills will increase their problem solving and reasoning abilities, which prepares them for STEM jobs. Desiree Hall, writes, “The new work is challenging, based on rigorous new Common Core State Standards…they have to explain how they got it. That’s a real brain workout.”(Hall) Moreover, the implementation of the Common Core makes it harder for students to

104-110). With these three features these will make a successful student not only in their K-12 years, but this will also be beneficial to the students in college and as they begin their careers in the work force. As teachers begin to change their ways of teaching to adjust to the common core standards it will create something fundamentally important in the schools system to create successful students. Not only does this take out the state creating state standardized assessments, but now the teachers are liable for that.

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.

In the article, “9 Reasons Why Common Core is Bad for Education” James Bascom addresses the problems with Common Core and standardized testing in the education system. James Bascom published his article on January 20, 2016 on the TFP Student Action website. Throughout the article, Bascom talks about the negative effect the change in the education system has on students and their parents. He addresses the way that Common Core bunches children together holding some back while challenging others too much. Teachers are often too set on teaching exactly what the core has lined out that they rarely stray from the plan. He outlines how the core has held students back from learning more and expanding upon their education.

Brenda was known as the class genius, and once again her mother was berating her. “How could you get a 70 on your algebra regent, I thought your math grade is a 95”, her mother yelled at her in a fit of rage. “Mom, I told you already, it’s not my fault, it’s common core”, she replied honestly. Common core standards are a major issue in many states of the United States, for several different reasons. Common Core standards were developed through the nation’s governors and education’s representative organizations, the National governors association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School officers.

The educational system in the United States was originally developed using concepts from around the world, created using ingenuitive ideas from countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. However, as the United States quickly moved into position as the leading country for state-directed educational standards, America looked less and less to the systems of other nations and more into how we could improve what was locally and currently being applied in education. Consequently, an improved type of education instruction was officially launched in 2010. These new state standards, practically titled Common Core, were declared to focus on developing a child’s skills in reasoning, problem solving, communication, and competition (Conrad, et al. 52). While the standards are professed to be an extremely practical and beneficial method of teaching today, there are issues which have recently surfaced and raised some concerns. The Common Core State Standards are emerging as the subjects of a provocative controversy in society today as they prompt discussion on global economic efficiency, nationwide academic standards, and the ultimate well-being of school-age children.

“The Common Core: A Disaster for Libraries, A Disaster for Language Arts, A Disaster for American Education,” was written by Stephen Krashen and taken from Knowledge Quest January/February 2014 issue. Stephen Krashen is professor emeritus, University of Southern California. Krashen points out that the Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, is not relevant for students. He states there are other issues that should be addressed, such as food insecurity or lack of health care, before we put more finances into strict testing and more advanced technology. His thesis is that American Education is missing the real problems affecting education and that the Common Core will continue to turn schools into testing centers.

At New Bern High School, Charlie Bernthal, a freshman, sits in a class room instructed by Common Core standards. It will take one of Charlie’s teachers six minutes to demonstrate the various methods to complete a simple multiplication problem, such as 63 x 24. Students are taught to use arrays, lattice, partial product methods, and eventually the traditional U.S. customary method. The Common Core standards happen to be a big discussion point during this year’s election. People have many strong opinions when it comes to the Common Core State Standards, but researchers and institutions express reasons why teachers and schools should not use Common Core to instruct America’s youth. Schools and teachers should not teach by Common Core standards because these standards are detrimental to our children.

“The Common Core: A Disaster for Libraries, A Disaster for Language Arts, A Disaster for American Education,” was written by Stephen Krashen and taken from Knowledge Quest January/February 2014 issue. Stephen Krashen is professor emeritus, University of Southern California. Krashen points out that the Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, is not relevant for students. He states there are other issues that should be addressed, such as food insecurity or lack of health care, before we put more finances into strict testing and more advanced technology. His thesis is that American Education is missing the real problems affecting education and that the Common Core will continue to turn schools into test centers.

From the word ‘core’ reveals that the Common Core State Standards has higher chances of success than other educational initiative where other improvement determinations have failed. The standards characterise one of the most promising developments in the struggles made to improve a nation’s transformation. The Common Core State Standards are not intended to replace any other standards that might be considered as weak or strong. Rather, they seek to reinforce all other standards in use by enhancing an integrated model of literacy in stating the details of content required for students in terms of grade (Drake, 2012).

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.

This paper will attempt to define the Common Core and what it entails in regards to educators, students and parents. All children deserve a quality education in America. The core requirements for each state are for children to meet the outlined standards of reading, writing and math. In respects to the Common Core, this paper will briefly discuss its background, how it has come to exist in the context of education reform and the controversies surrounding these standards. Finally, giving an evaluation of the assets, limits, and problems associated with the Common Core.

The trouble with the Common Core is not that it was the handiwork of Anti-Americans or Anti-Teachers but that it was the work of well meaning, self-impressed technocrats who fudged difficult questions, used federal coercion to compel repaid national adoption (National Affairs 2014).