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Questions to Ask Your Child’s School About Common Core
By Kristin Stanberry
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Common Core Questions to AskHas your state agreed to adopt the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in its public schools? If so, you’ll want as much information as possible before the new standards go into effect. Your child’s school or school district may communicate some of this information on their website and/or in notices sent to parents. Because the CCSS will affect the entire school, all parents will want to be informed and prepared. If your child struggles in school and/or already has an IEP, you have even more reason to ask questions. Below are some of the key questions you’ll want to get answers to.

Questions All Parents Should Ask About Common Core State Standards
  • When will the CCSS go into effect at our school?
  • If the standards change drastically, will this result in a difficult transition for teachers and students? If so, what will the school do to minimize the disruption?
  • How (and how soon) will my child’s general education teacher(s) be trained in the new standards?
  • How will the school’s curriculum materials (like textbooks) be replaced or adapted for CCSS?
  • When will the CCSS assessments (tests) be introduced at our school?
  • What will the new annual tests look like?
  • Will the annual tests be online-only? If this is a change for your school, ask if the school has enough computers in good working order. Also, will less computer-literate students need more training in keyboarding and other technical skills?
  • How can I help make the shift to CCSS easier for my child?

Questions to Ask If You Suspect Your Child Has LD
  • There’s concern (on my part and/or the teacher’s part) that my child may have a learning disability (LD). Will the implementation of CCSS change the LD evaluation process?
  • If any or all of the CCSS result in much higher expectations of students at a certain grade level, could there be a sudden increase in the number of students suspected of having LD? How would this be handled?
  • Will the use of Response to Intervention (RTI) change due to the CCSS? If so, how?

Questions to Ask if Your Child Receives Special Education Services
  • Should there be a special IEP team meeting to review my child’s IEP in light of the new standards?
  • Should my child have a standards-based IEP?
  • Will my child’s special education teacher be trained in CCSS?
  • Will the general education teachers and special education teachers be equally prepared to implement CCSS? If not, could this result in confusion for them and my child?
  • How will CCSS change access to, and decision-making around, my child’s testing accommodations?
  • My child is old enough to begin transition planning with the school.Should I discuss the CCSS with the IEP team to assure my child is on track to become college and/or career ready?

Keep a record of the answers to these questions so you can refer to them throughout the school year, especially before IEP meetings and parent-teacher conferences. Be sure to subscribe to NCLD’s Parent News email newsletter to learn about new developments in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

More on Common Core Standards



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.
 

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