Strengths And Weaknesses Of The NCTM Standards

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)

1- A committee of parents, students and teachers should be able to develop curriculum programs for the school. Teachers can collect information on current effective practices in their schools; they can provide demonstration lessons to the public and their colleagues. Parents can share their expertise and experiences; they can serve as cooperative advisors, editors and advocates for their children. Students can also be a part of it because it helps define acceptable levels of expectations and identify motivating practices.

Curriculums are the roadmaps for schools which provide purpose and direction for administrators, educators, parents, and students. Curriculum typically refers to, “the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, which includes the learning standards or learning objectives they are expected to meet; the units and lessons that teachers teach; the assignments and projects given to students; the books, materials, videos, presentations, and readings used in a course; and the tests, assessments, and other methods used to evaluate student learning.” (Curriculum, 2015, para. 1) Curriculums may come in many shapes and forms, whether they’re purchased as a package at the school or district level or they’re created or refined by educators and

There are many approaches that can be taken in order to develop a school’s curriculum, or the material that the students will learn. If there were no federal regulation of curriculum, then it would not be possible to compare student achievement across districts or even states. The federal program, Common Core State Standards, assists in equaling education across the nation. The Common Core has reinvented the perception of student learning which, in turn, has caused American education to become a corporate institution. As a result, there has been a threat to states’ rights for education as more rigorous content has been implemented into classrooms by the government, which ultimately changes the role of the teacher.

Today, many states and schools systems are adopting a standards based education system. In fact, according to Common Core Standards Initiative (2014), forty-three states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have adopted the Common Core State Standards. The premise is that if all critical subject areas follow a standard from state to state, that all students will receive the same and fair education. The Vermont State Board of Education saw a need and a value in implementing such a system. As such, the Board created a strategic plan to implement a framework of standards that would eventually adopt the common core standards. This paper will discuss the strategic plan created by the Vermont Board of Education and evaluate whether or not the goals of the plan were met through the Framework of Standards.

Structuring on the best of existing state standards, the Common Core State Standards provide a clear and reliable learning goal to help prepare students for college, career, and life. The standards clearly demonstrate what students are expected to learn at each grade level, so that every parent and teacher can understand and support their learning. From Kindergarten through 8th grade, grade-by-grade standards exist in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. From 9th through 12th grade, the standards are grouped into grade sets of 9th through 10th grade standards and 11th through 12th grade standards. Moreover, the CCSS stress the importance of using primary texts in the classroom to build literacy, along with many other things. While the standards set grade-specific goals, they do not define how the standards should be taught or which materials should be used to support students. States and districts know that there will need to be a range of supports in place to guarantee that all students, including those with special needs and English language learners, can master the standards. It is up to the states to outline the full range of supports appropriate for these students.

The new Common Core State Standards for Mathematics bring a new opportunity to the classrooms of the United States that many people view as a controversial. According to the NCTM (2013) “The Common Core State Standards offer a foundation for the development of more rigorous, focused, and coherent mathematics curricula, instruction, and assessments that promote conceptual understanding and reasoning as well as skill fluency” (par. 1). While some people believe that the Common Core State Standards may hinder progress in the classroom for many reasons including too much government control, teaching to the test, an excessive focus on language arts and math, and wasted resources, others agree with the NCTM statement about that claims the standards help increase conceptual understanding, reasoning, and skill fluency.

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.

“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

By “reviewing literature on professional development standards, observing professional development sessions, and comparing observations to professional development standards”, the author concluded that the majority of the teachers observed, participated in activities that aligned with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. Weaknesses noted by Hill (2004), included infrequent opportunities for teachers to reflect, practice, and return for feedback. The teachers also lack the opportunity for professional developers to model effective or relevant teaching strategies. Hill (2004) concluded that if effective professional development was to be the outcome, then higher ranking educational professionals and policy makers should designed activities that measured specific outcomes, such as “teachers’ growth in content knowledge for teaching mathematics, knowledge of students’ mathematical learning, or their use of certain instructional or assessment practices.” Hill (2004) also recommended that policymakers redesign standards to focus more on content rather than

The Common Core is a set of academic standards that show what a student should learn in Mathematics and English (“About the Standards”). The standards were made 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”). The standards start in kindergarten and go all the way up to 12th grade (Pérez). Forty-two states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have chosen to take in the standards, and are moving forward with the Common Core (“About the Standards”). The standards were created through the work of administrators, teachers, school chiefs, and other experts to provide a clear and consistent outline for educators (“About the Standards”). The standards are understandable, research- and evidence-based, built upon the strengths and lessons of current state

Q2: Find three sources of information relation to this purpose statement and provide the following information.

Associate Superintendent Mary Jo Conery presented the first reading of the academic content standards of the course to the board for their consideration and approval. Dr. Conery reported that the applications of mathematics are a new fourth year high school mathematics course that were approved by the board on January 26, 2016 for the 2016-2017. The academic standards for mathematics provide a consistent, clear understanding of what student are expected to learn. The standards are focused, coherent, and relevant to the real world, describing the knowledge and skills that student need for success in college and career pathways. By steering high expectations with a commitment to succeed with all students, the district is positioning the future

Although it is impossible to agree on just one definition of curriculum, one can understand the idea based on how it functions in relation to education practice by aligning the three major types of curriculum, which are intended curriculum, implemented

3.1 Demonstrate collected data and information through various graphs using any statistical software e.g. spreadsheet