What's going on at this school in Loveland, Colo., as well as across the United States, is a key step in a long-running shift to national standards. These Common Core standards, which have been adopted by 45 states, have the potential to drastically change curriculum in elementary, middle, and high schools around the country.
Common Core
5/14/2013
On Monday, a group of Senate Democrats, accompanied by members of the American Federation of Teachers, called on Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and the Department of Education to stop implementing the Common Core standards, which Corbett's Democratic predecessor, Gov. Ed Rendell, started to get students ready for college and careers.
5/13/2013
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is managing the standards creation and feedback process, offers a wealth of information on its website to help district staff understand the process and get their questions answered.
5/8/2013
Reactions usually involve the added demand these standards place on text complexity and general rigor. Since they’re only available for English-Language Arts and Math, it’s difficult to get a full picture for how they will impact public education, but some inferences can be made based on the set of ELA standards.
5/6/2013
Two decades ago, Texas became ground zero for the accountability movement in public education. Now, after a revolt by teachers and parents who claim that high-stakes testing is ruining classroom instruction, the legislature is poised to undo many of its own reforms. Does anyone have the right answer?
5/3/2013
Maureen Clancy-May, an area supervisor with Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, told the crowd of about 150 that the standards were developed by states to better prepare students for the global economy and for college.
5/2/2013
By David S. Martin, Ph.D., 5-2-13
We read increasing numbers of messages these days about second thoughts that various entities are having in regard to the Common Core Curriculum Standards. On the one hand, this statement of concerns is definitely troubling because for the real first time, the Common Core (for all of its shortcomings) is a bona fide attempt to coordinate American public education—an historic attempt; the resistance is partly due to short-sighted parochialism on the part of some states, wanting to “maintain” their own curriculum.
5/1/2013
The Common Core’s honeymoon phase is over, and now a growing backlash is emerging as parents, educators and political figures cite concerns ranging from rigor to privacy issues.
4/16/2013
New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott Monday announced a new citywide public awareness poster campaign to help continue to familiarize public school parents with the transition to the Common Core Learning Standards and the new state exams that begin this week.
4/10/2013
In a math class, they saw five students present different solutions for the same problem, then heard the teacher explain that one strategy of problem-solving might make more sense for one student, or in one situation, than another.
4/8/2013
The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students. These practices rest on important “processes and proficiencies” with longstanding importance in mathematics education.
4/8/2013
Several model education programs are leading the charge to fulfill President Barack Obama's call for 100,000 highly qualified STEM teachers over the next decade, and to get them ready for the much-anticipated new K-12 math and science standards.
3/29/2013
A plethora of online tools and instructional materials is becoming available to help educators meet Common Core standards, making for some overwhelming options for teachers and students. More than seven in 10 educators search for instructional resources at least several times a week, but only one in four educators describes his or her searches as “usually successful,” according to a July survey report.
3/29/2013
As Common Core implementation begins, education publishers are creating products that align with the standards and take advantage of technology that elicits student engagement. These products offer transformation beyond the regular curriculum to personalized learning, with content that adapts in real time to individual learners.
3/26/2013
Spurred on by South Dakota’s pending move to online tests, the Sioux Falls School District plans to spend $7.3 million during the next two years buying Google Chromebooks or Apple iPads for every student, from kindergarten through 12th grade.
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