Common Core

Since the implementation of Common Core State standards in NC last school year I have heard a lot about it the schools as well as outside the schools. As an education major I have worked extensively with the common core standards in school. From the moment the general assembly elected to adopt common core in June 2010, we began using them in all of our planning for our classes. I was very surprised last fall to hear so many inaccurate statements by so many, especially teachers and administrators. I have heard statements that Common core means every child will be learning the same things, at the same time, in the same way, in every school, in every state. I have heard that you can no longer use beloved programs such as “In My House” because they do not align with Common Core. I have heard that the famous AR program cannot be used because it does not align with Common Core.  I have heard that Common Core does not give the teacher the flexibility to teach students the way they see as best for the students. I have heard comments that Common Core dictates how you teach. I have heard that Common Core forces teachers to teach to a test.  I have heard that Common Core discourages kids from reading for enjoyment.

 First and foremost, Common Core is standards NOT curriculum.  It only covers language arts and math. States still have their own separate standards for all other subject areas. States have had standards for what the students in the state are expected to learn for years.  Yes, it sucks for some teachers who had the old expectations memorized that they have to learn completely new standards for each grade, but let’s face it the world is not the same world it was just 15 years ago. Our kindergarten today is what first grade was when I was in elementary school. Common Core does not dictate how you teach or when you teach it. It simply tells you what each grade level should learn before the end of the school year. The teacher still determines the best approach to help his or her student learn. School systems and school principals are the ones who dictate how you teach and the pacing guide for when you teach it. If a teacher feels confined by how they can teach, he or she needs to look at the administration and LEA, not the standards.

Yes Common Core focuses on more non-fiction literature, but it does not discourage children from enjoying their fiction literature. It takes very different reading skills to enjoy a fiction novel or to read a non-fictional piece. As an avid reader who read everything she could get her hands on in school I love the great works of literature I study in school. However, reading and enjoying works like The Scarlet Letter, and Great Expectations did not prepare me for the real world. Great works like this are not cut from Common Core; it simply ensures that focus is placed on the non-fiction reading skills as well. Too many of our students are struggling in college because they have not been taught to read non-fiction critically.

 Yes standardized tests are redone to align with the Common Core standards. Why would you want your child taking a test that does not measure the standards they are supposed to be learning? States are not required to adopt the Common Core. Yes if a state wants race to the top money they were required to adopt more rigorous standards. Most states have chosen to adopt the common core, but they could have created their own standards if they wanted to.  One of the main reasons Common Core was developed was because students were going off to college with huge gaps in learning throughout the country. The thought process was that if the standards were the same then all students would be on an equal playing field regardless of the state they were from.

 Love it or hate it, the AR program does align with the Common Core standards. The AR program uses the ATOS readability formula, which has been recognized as a valid and reliable way to measure the complexity of text for students.

 Sadly since the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), more and more schools have been teaching to the test. This is a result of pressure to do well on standardized tests, not a result of the standards expected for the students.

 You may like the new standards or you may hate them. I just wish that people would at least make accurate statements. If you do not like Common Core because you do not agree with the standards or the grade levels of them that is fine. Others have felt that the old standards were outdated. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I am not saying people should love common core, they should simply make sure they know what it is before they make a lot of inaccurate statements. Ok, I will step off of my soap box now.