All students deserve a consistent, quality education!

If one was to look at different eighth grade classrooms (or any grade level) across the country from state-to-state, there would be very little consistency.  Some schools would appear to be providing a quality education, whereas others may not.  For years, this has been the case because each state wrote and followed their own state standards.  Students at the same grade level were expected to achieve at different levels according to the academic standards of their state.  Is this fair for the students?  How do we set standards so that all states follow and all students receive a consistent, quality education? And, if we do set standards which all states follow, would our schools become cookie-cutter schools?    

Common Core Standards is the direction that education is going, with 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands formally adopting the Common Core Standards.  

Rather than having 50 states with 50 different standards, there will now be common learning goals for all students no matter where they live.  This will ensure that from school to school and state to state that students are receiving a quality education that is comparable to other students in the same grade.  According to the Common Core Standards website, “The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce”.  

As a Language Arts teacher, I do not find this set of standards threatening or constricting.  I actually find them helpful because the goals and expectations for each grade are clear, yet leave room for me and my team to decide how we are going to address each standard in our classrooms.  The Common Core Standards work like a staircase so that each subject (currently just Language Arts and Math, but eventually expanding) builds in complexity for a deeper understanding through the grade levels.  The goal of the Common Core Standards is not to have a universal curriculum where every eighth grader reads the same books and writes the same genres no matter where they live.  Rather, the goal is to provide students with a solid education that prepares them for college and a career.  

As stated by the  Common Core Standards website, the standards:

• Are aligned with college and work expectations; 
• Are clear, understandable and consistent; 
• Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills; 
• Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards; 
• Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society;
• Are evidence-based

In our world, we need to prepare students to compete and work alongside their peers no matter where they end up in life.  The first step to doing this is creating a set of consistent standards that will prepare our students with the skills, strategies and content they will need to be successful.  Isn’t it only fair that our students, no matter where they live, receive a quality education?  Thoughts?...

Ms. S