Educators need to prepare how they will respond when the community, parents, and students ask, "What problem is Common Core trying to solve?" Libby Nelson has condensed the most important questions about Common Core into easy-to-read explanations in her "Everything You Need to Know About Common Core."
You can read all of the cards at:Card #3
What problems is the Common Core trying to solve?
Two big, complex problems. First, American students are
middle-of-the-road at best on academic skills when compared to other countries
on international tests. Policymakers and business leaders hope that tougher
standards will help the US catch up globally.
Second, under the old system, it was hard to compare
students in different states. Until now, each state set its own standards for
what students should understand at each grade level, and each state had a
different definition for what it meant to be "proficient" in math and
reading.
The US Education Department's statisticians found a lot of
variation when they mapped state standards onto scores on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress. That test is called the "Nation's
Report Card" — a standardized test students take nationally every few
years. They also found that even students who met state goals might not
actually be doing all that well, since the national exam set the bar higher
than states did. In the federal government's eyes, all states had standards
that were too low, and there was too much variation on how low they were.
Most education systems don't work that way, and it makes it
difficult for states to collaborate to improve education nationally. The Common
Core is supposed to solve this by holding students in the majority of states to
the same, higher standards.
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