College and Career-Ready Standards for School Leaders

Many homeschooling families believe that they can remain insulated from the effects of the unpopular Common Core curriculum by maintaining control of their curriculum in their home.

As the state noted its first test-score decline in at least a decade , superintendents changed their tune in predicting what impact the new, rigorous Common Core curriculum would have on the Maryland School Assessment scores this year.

State Superintendent Lillian Lowery as saying: "If [teachers] are teaching the Common Core standards, they should do well on the Maryland School Assessments and the High School Assessments."

The new Common Core State Standards are bringing a new generation of tests next year which are already being touted by teachers, parents, and politicians as the apocalypse of education in America. These tests will measure skills like reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge and the ability to write a cogent argument or present an opinion with evidence to support the proffered point of view. How are these skills not important? They are the basic skills required for college, career, and life.

So why aren’t they already being taught as part of the curriculum?

As California teachers begin to strategize about how to meet the Common Core standards, some educators say that explicit instruction in social and emotional competence – teaching students how to regulate their emotions, problem-solve, and disagree respectfully, among other abilities – should be a key part of the equation. The ability to collaborate, to see others’ perspectives, and to persevere in solving problems is required of students in the Common Core

New standardized tests that could replace FCAT might cost a little less per-student that Florida's current fleet of standardized exams, estimates show.

The price tag of $29.50 per student is less than the $30.59 that Florida said it spent per student on testing during the 2011-12 school year.

15 More Resources For Common Core Learning

Has Common Core lost its drive?

Nearly 53% of respondents said their school or district has adequate technology in place – or is on track to have the technology — to implement the common core, including online assessments. However, 43% of respondents said their school or district is not “tech-ready.”

Schools have about 15 months to prepare for the online assessments that reflect the learning goals of the Common Core State Standards. Some districts already know what the transition will be like.

A survey of high-ranking state education officials finds sees little chance of the Common Core State Standards being reversed this school year, despite opposition within some states.

What does it really mean to teach reading in a digital age? It means teaching both ways and also in new ways. It means going back to school and learning to read along with our students, in a world ...

In order to better understand an issue that will affect every aspect of K-12 schooling, I recommend you take three important steps:

1.Watch Mike McShane’s Top 3 video (below) on the Common Core.

2.Read “5 Things Every Parent Needs to Know About the Common Core” and AEI’s recent research paper series, which addresses how the Common Core will affect other school improvement efforts.

3. Engage in the conversation. Don’t just jump on the pro- or anti- bandwagon; ask hard questions and seek out answers… because kids’ futures are depending on it. 

Districts and schools in California will switch to a new statewide assessment system in the 2014-15 school year.

The new assessments will focus on the Common Core State Standards and be administered through a computerized testing system being developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).

Looking toward statewide implementation in 2014-15, districts should be evaluating their needs and establishing action plans to ensure a successful transition.