'All Students Will be College and Career Ready'

College graduates are not just competing in the U.S. economy, the business world has gotten more global. America's students are lagging far behind counterparts in places as far away as Hong Kong. Educators believe one factor may be that schools are trying to teach too much.

Connecticut has joined 43 other states in adopting the Common Core, which establishes national academic standards for all districts. It pinpoints what students need to know to succeed and allows teachers to focus more time on making them proficient in it.

"It's clear on what students should know when they finish each grade level," Assistant Supt. of Schools John Battista said. "I think eventually every state will be on board with this. It will be part of the Race to the Top."

The vast majority of Masuk High School graduates choose to enroll in a college or technical school, but some opt to earn a paycheck right away.

"Students need to be college and career ready. Some of our students may choose to enter the world of work and we want them to be ready," Battista said.

When Battista talks about being prepared for work, he's not talking about a job flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant. Rather, he said students must have the skills needed to earn a living wage.

Lesson plans will teach students how to use math, writing and other subjects in the "real world," according to Battista.

Earlier in the school year, Battista and Sheila Casinelli, director of curriculum for instruction for Monroe Public Schools, made a presentation to the Board of Education about the Core Curriculum.

The CMT and CAPT tests will no longer be part of student assessments. They will be replaced by the Adaptive Technology Assessments test. Battista said students taking the test on their computers will have different questions than the students sitting next to them — making it harder to cheat.

While the core curriculum sets the standards, Battista said it does not dictate how it is taught, leaving freedom in how teachers get their students to learn the material in the classroom.

Connecticut schools' standards must meet the Core Curriculum by the 2015 school year and Battista said Monroe Public Schools, which began the process last year, is already off to a great start.

Over the next three years, Casinelli said, "We will be aligning our standards to the Common Core.

"We don't want to be caught off guard," Battista said of the big change on 2015. "We're very excited by these standards. We think this is good for these kids and we will be ready."