School District Prepares to Meet Common Core State Standards

This month, Washington joined 44 other states and adopted the Common Core State Standards, which will transform language arts and math requirements for the .

The Core Standards will define what students should learn in kindergarten through 12th grade based on college and work expectations, developed after extensive study on exisiting and successful learning programs here and abroad.

“Common Core State Standards are rapidly becoming our national standards,” said Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Erin Laverdiere.

There are Core Standards curriculums in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The pilot assessments are scheduled for 2014, which means that school districts have approximately three school years to educate their teachers about CCSS and work with their students to meet these standards.

Laverdiere spoke to the Sumner School District Board of Directors at a meeting in July about the Standards.

There is a 72 percent match between current Washington state standards in reading and CCSS in reading across grade levels, and a 95 percent match in math.

Advantages of the new program include a refurbished philosophy of “No Child Left Behind,” Washington as a state is close to these standards already, and “teachers will be able to share strategies and ideas.”

However, there is some ground to make up, primarily because Washington adopted CCSS later than most states.

Challenges to meeting the Standards on time include financial problems. Due to a lack of resources, teacher learning days have been cut back significantly. The school district will have to be creative about disseminating the information that teachers need to know. Also, the district has lost control over writing the curriculum for English and mathematics.

Some important things that CCSS DO NOT do: tell teachers how to teach the outlined curriculum, cover Learning Assistance Program (LAP) students, or provide for advanced students.

The English Language Arts standards are broken into four “strands": reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. They include a requirement that students know how to use media in various forms. The English requirement is also divided into K-5 cross-disciplinary, 6-12 English Language Arts, and 6-12 Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.

The Mathematics standards are more focused, with specific types of problems and areas of math—like fractions, algebra, statistics—assigned to every grade level.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative was begun by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. These organizations worked with “teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce,” according to the Core Standards website.

The CCSS mission statement:

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

“I perceive somewhat of an improvement over what we’ve had with No Child Left Behind,” said School Board President Sherm Voiles.