Essay on How Challenging Is the Common Core Standards for Students

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).

What is the common core? “The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) defines the knowledge and skills in English language arts and mathematics that students need for success in college and careers upon high school graduation” (Santos, Darling-Hammond, Cheuk (2012)). The common core was created, “to provide clear academic benchmarks with more concise academic standards for essential learning that will prepare students to be college and career ready” (Liebtag, E. (2013)). The common core standards have then, been introduced and applied to most schools in the U.S, and although it may have its controversies, the major issue, is its effect on ELL (English Language Learners) students. “ELs currently constitute

In chapter seven of Pathways to the Common Core by Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman (2012), the authors explain that teachers often dismiss the Common Core writing standards as unrealistically high demands for their students, but clarify that through examination of the standard in a horizontal fashion, the standards are ultimately realistic and attainable. Calkins, Ehrenworth, and Lehman encourage teachers to begin with reading the kindergarten standards (no matter which grade level you teach) and look at the trajectory through next grade levels. The chapter continues by explaining that viewing the standards in this fashion and collaborating with teachers across grade levels will not only create a more realistic view of the standard, but allow students to meet the learning objectives through smaller steps across each grade level (Calkins, Ehrenworth & Lehman, 2012).

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.

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 test data and percentages were the Smarter Balanced scores for students who had shown proficiency on problem-solving standards. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) groups scores in three categories (below, at/near, and above). Table 1 focuses only on scores that are “Above Grade Level Standard” since those are the only students who proved mastery on those standards test-wide. Group A (as referred to on Table 1) had 98 students when entering 4th grade, and 102 when exiting. Group B has 92 students entering 4th grade and has yet to exit the grade level. For the reasonability of the instructional goals, the researcher is going to be focused specifically on Group B1. This is a subset of Group B, as it is a complete class that has “looped” from 3rd grade to 4th grade together (therefore keeping their “entering”/“exiting” data more relevant). Group B1 consists of 23 of

It is important to have a successful education, but common core will not only affect the schools it will also affect how students learn. According to Applebee, “From my perspective, the CCSS offers a strong and well-intentioned vision of the knowledge and skills needed by a college-and career-ready high school graduate.” (Applebee, 2013, pg. 25-33). With the world constantly changing in order to be successful is to have the fundamental structure built up for the individual. A successful person is usually successful because of the knowledge they have gathered. However, CCSS (Common Core State Standards) focuses on the main parts of education, reading, writing, and mathematics. Teaching common core is not simple to children or teenagers. Often each individual has a different way of learning. With common core, every individual is paced at the same

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.

Education no longer fits your parent's vision of the three R's. To be career and college ready should be the goal of every high school student today. Students must learn to read and gather information efficiently. This research proposal subject matter resulted directly from the fact my mother, her mother and her grandfather have all been educators. One could say education is in the bloodline. As a high school student, the effects of the controversial Common Core Standards are apparent and personal. For the community, as a whole, the Common Core, if successful, will permit students to enter college or a career adequately prepared. Thus, preparing a workforce that is competent and therefore, better equipped for available employment.

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

One drawback with the Common Core system, is that it doesn’t meet the needs of minority students. Minority students feel that their learning styles are not integrated in the classroom in relevance to their cultures. Minority students sometimes feel that they cannot connect certain concepts to their knowledge. CCSSI takes away the culture of minority students and replaces it with a standardized culture that appears to be the same for everyone. (Brown, 2016). Another issue deals with gaps between rich students and poor students and with black or white students (Ravitch, 2016). “The failure rates on the Common Core tests are staggeringly high for black and Hispanic children, students with disabilities and English-language learners.”

Over the last few years, there has been a huge shift is classroom dynamics and teaching with the introduction of Common Core standards. The new standards are requiring students to think in different ways than they are accustomed to and teachers are finding themselves teaching using entirely different teaching methods, all while trying to maintain a balance of more effective practices and what teachers are most comfortable with. In an attempt to keep aligned with the new standards, elementary school across America are in the process of trying various new strategies that conflict with the beliefs of many teachers. The question in focus in relation to the new standards and teaching practices is how will counting objects impact the number

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was first implemented in 2010, nine years after I graduated from high school. Although I wasn’t personally affected by the new academic standards, it has a direct impact on the current and future generation of leaders, innovators, and world changers including my future children. The initial purpose of the Common Core Standards is to set high-quality learning goals designed to prepare students to be college and career ready. Given the current controversies surrounding CCSS, studies have shown that although the intent was to benefit students in the long-run it may actually be hindering their mathematical and reading skills. To further explore the arguments behind the Common Core initiative, I will

Throughout the history of education, several “fads” have made their way in and out of the schools. From whole language to phonics to No Child Left Behind, educators have modified their practices to fit with new curriculum and government mandates. Many teachers describe the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as “just another fad.” However, I believe that this is not the case.

In The New Holy Trinity, Richard M. Re takes us back to the very controversial 1892 case, Holy Trinity. This is one of the most problematic cases for purposivist and it lead to a decrease in purposivism as an interpretation tool. It has been criticized by textualist, such as the late Justice Scalia, due to its prioritizing of a statutes purpose over the plain language of the text. As a result, Holy Trinity was overthrown thus making New Textualism the prevailing view – especially in the Roberts court. However, Re argues that purposivism has evolved and now has the “upper hand” in the Roberts court. “The New Holy Trinity”, according to Re, is the resurgence of consideration for non-textual factors when determining how much clarity is required for a text to be clear. Re argues that the Court has embraced NHT – that is a hybrid version of textualism. The court looks at the purpose of the statute in light of the text before deciding ambiguity. Then it goes to the purpose of the text – shown by legislative history, common sense understanding, a canon, and then decides based on that rather than the plain reading of the case. Re uses three Supreme Court cases: Bond v. United States, Yates v. United States, and King v. Burwell as evidence that his theory is correct.