Common Core Standards

The purpose of this common core state standards section is to introduce to teachers what the common core state standards are and to give them access into how the standards are laid out, what grade levels they span, and how to use them. These state standards are a charge issued by the states (45) to create the next generation of K-12 standards in order to help ensure that all students are college and career ready (CCR) in literacy no later than the end of high school.

The recommended audience for these standards are all K-12 teachers of English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects and also Math. As specified by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor's Association (NGA), these standards are:

1)research and evidence based
2)aligned with college and work expectations
3)rigorous
4)internationally benchmarked.

These standards lay out a vision of what it means to be a literate individual in the 21st century. These standards also span individual grade levels in grades K-8, grade level bands 9-10 and grade level bands 11-12 in high school. They consist of 4 strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language. Each strand is divided into anchor standards and supporting standards. Reading and Writing each have 10 anchor standards and Speaking/Listening and Language have 6. The standards define what all students should know and be able to do, not how teachers should teach. They can't specify all or even most of what needs to be taught, so they need to be complemented by a rich curriculum consistent with the document's expectations. Although they set grade level specific standards, they don't outline what needs to be done for those students who fall below or above that which they need by the end of high school. It also does not define the range of supports needed for students who need interventions or special needs students.

My analysis of the value of these standards is that they are of great value to K-12 teachers who will begin utilizing these standards in the 2012-2013 school year. This 2011-2012 school year is the year for teachers to get familiar with how the standards are laid out and what they say students should know and be able to do. But since next year is the year they are placed into practice, this is the year for reading over them and for learning what they are all about,hence "getting our feet wet." These standards will be what is utilized for teaching, beginning in 2012-2013. The content of what is taught from now on will be based on what the standards say students should know and be able to do, lessons and curriculum which will be written to match these standards, and most importantly, they will be the basis for getting students grades K-12 college and career ready for the real world.