Thoughts on the Common Core Standards (CCS)

There has been much discussion recently both for and against the Common Core Standards.  Sadly, the focus on whether or not states should adopt the Common Core Standards has been heavily politicized- so much that it has distracted from what the Common Core Standards really set out to do, which was improve the way schools were preparing students for college and careers across the nation so they were competitive in the global economy. 

            Many opponents of the CCS feel that the federal government should have no voice in the educational standards selected by each state.  I do acknowledge that with certain issues, the actions of the federal government should be tempered, however, without some consistency in educational standards across our country, think about the student who moves from one state to another.  They may be at risk of “missing” key concepts and skills that may not be taught in their schools of attendance.  Additionally, are we really giving every student in this country a equal and fair advantage to achieving success with college and their potential career if there is no commonality on the expectations for learning no matter where you live? 

            Many opponents of the CCS fear that their should be no “national curriculum” and that individual states should define what course content should be taught.  I agree.  What this really represents is a common misunderstanding between “curriculum” and “standards.” Standards and curriculum are two very different things.  Standards define what students should know and be able to do by the end of a course of study.  For example, a standard from the CCS calls for all students in grades 6-8 to “draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.”  

       Curriculum defines the road map to getting there- course content, pacing, scope of content, resources to be used, etc.  So, in relation to the standard above on “drawing evidence from informational text,” the teacher can choose any informational text that best supports their content area and any method of instruction that will help achieve the standard.  That autonomy should always remain with the local school districts and the teachers who know the course content best.  The CCS does not set out to challenge the design of local curriculum.  While the CCS does list “recommended readings” for English, social studies and science, these are just that- recommendations, not requirements.  There are some required texts, such as excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and the Constitution, but for the most part, that has always been embedded in school curriculums.   The CCS does not tell states, districts, or teachers how to teach.  The CCS does not dictate test questions for states. They simply state that by the end of each grade level in English and math, students across the country should be able to know and be able to do similar tasks related to these areas of study so they are equally prepared as all their peers across the nation.  Keep in mind that the CCS does not dictate standardized testing requirements either.  That comes in the form of MCAS and potentially PARCC- a whole other topic.   

            I saw an op-ed piece recently where opponents of the the CCS were scrutinizing how political beliefs were being embedded into the CCS.  Their example was illustrated by a test question on a teacher’s exam.  The question did indeed have a political bias- the teacher’s personal political bias, which is not okay.  However, this question was not devised by the developers of the CCS since they do not design tests. Standardized tests are generally devised by key leaders in the department of education of each individual state.  Local assessments are generally devised by local teachers.  If there is a bias in an assessment question, that is an issue to take up with those writing the test. 

            Many fear that the adoption of the CCS represents a dramatic paradigm shift in how schools teach English, math, social studies and science.  The truth is that in the state of Massachusetts, the former state frameworks were very much aligned to the skills that are outlined in the CCS.  What the CCS did for the previous MA state standards was 1.  increased the rigor (i.e. complexity)  of what students should know and be able to do across the grade spans and 2.  developed a rational, effective scaffolding of skills from one grade level to the next so that by the time students reach 12^th grade, they are prepared to do complex, real world applications related to reading, writing and critical thinking. 

            Lastly, opponents of the CCS often discuss the financial burden that school districts will have to undergo to align to the CCS in terms of changing assessments and obtaining CCS- ready resources for the classroom.  The textbook is not the sole source of knowledge and the development of skills for teaching and learning.  It is one resource.  In an age where technology helps us gain access to a wide variety of information in so many different formats, educators and students no longer have to rely so heavily on textbooks, workbooks and other tangible resources for the classroom.  One could argue that as we demand the development of more 21^st century skills in our classrooms (communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity) the access to often free online resources, make this more cost effective for schools. 

            Listed below are some sample CCS standards for both the English, math and literacy standards for social studies and science so you can judge for yourself their relevancy and controversy. 

English (grades 9-12)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Social Studies and Science (grades 9-12):

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

Algebra I (grade 9):

Perform arithmetic operations on polynomials.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA.APR.A.1
Understand that polynomials form a system analogous to the integers, namely, they are closed under the operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication; add, subtract, and multiply polynomials.