What Are Common Core State Standards? - Página 2

What’s the Difference Between Educational Standards and Curriculum?To grasp the concept of the Common Core State Standards, it’s important to understand the difference between educational standards and the curriculum:

• Standards describe what students should know and be able to do in each subject in each grade.
• The curriculum refers to how educators teach the subject matter. Curriculum is not spelled out under CCSS but is still determined by individual states and school districts.

So, if your state has adopted the CCSS, decisions are being made about whether the reading and math curricula in your school district are adequate to ensure students can achieve the standards.

Which States Did Not Adopt Common Core State Standards?While most states have adopted the Common Core State Standards, a handful of states decided against using them. Alaska, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Virginia did not adopt Common Core Standards for either math or English/language arts. Minnesota has adopted Common Core Standards for English/language arts but not for math.

Why would a state choose not to adopt Common Core Standards? Here are some possibilities:

• The expense of buying new instructional materials and adopting new reading and math assessments
• The time and expense of training teachers in the new standards
• General disruption caused by the transition to the new standards

Why We’re in Favor of Common Core StandardsThe rationale behind the CCSS initiative is to improve public education in grades K–12 by raising standards and promoting equity in education. No matter where a student lives, as long as he attends public school in a state that has adopted CCSS, he’ll be taught according to the same high standards.

Proponents of CCSS also point out that by working together, states will be more efficient and effective. States using CCSS can collaborate on the development of teaching materials aligned to the standards, as well as designing annual assessments (standardized tests) to measure student progress. Participating states can also work together to support teachers and schools in implementing the CCSS. Best practices will emerge and be shared among states. For the first time in U.S. history, reading and math achievement scores for grades 3–8 will be comparable between states adopting the CCSS.

What We Still Don’t Know About Common Core StandardsAs with any sweeping new initiative that applies to a large and complex system and group of people, some of the ramifications of CCSS are still unknown. Here are some of the questions that remain unresolved:

• What training in CCSS will general education teachers receive? Will the training be complete before CCSS is implemented, or gradual and ongoing as the new standards are phased in?
• Will special education teachers be trained in the new standards?
• What will the role of special educators be in schools that have adopted CCSS?
• How will instructional materials be changed or phased in as CCSS are implemented?
• Will schools be able to easily design curriculum aligned with the new standards? If not, how will this play out in the classroom (e.g., as confusion, disruption)?
• How will Response to Intervention (RTI) be implemented with the new standards?
• Will all CCSS states use standards-based IEPs?
• When new state tests are developed to assess students’ knowledge and skills, which accommodations will be provided to students with IEPs?

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Kristin Stanberry is a writer and editor specializing in parenting, education, and consumer health/wellness issues. Her areas of expertise include learning disabilities and AD/HD, topics which she wrote about extensively for Schwab Learning and GreatSchools.