| After taking more than a year to develop and built | | | | graders would be able to describe the characters of |
| on a foundation of previously established college and | | | | a story, sixth graders could compare and contrast |
| career-readiness standards, the Common Core State | | | | various texts, while 11th graders would demonstrate |
| Standards have now been released. | | | | a knowledge of 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century |
| You should know that... | | | | foundational works in American literature. |
| The Standards were developed by the Council | | | | And when it comes to writing, the standards indicate, |
| of Chief State School Officers and the National | | | | for example, that a 5th grader would successfully |
| Governors Association-along with input from | | | | write well-supported opinion pieces, while an 8th |
| numerous teachers, parents, school administrators, | | | | grader would be able to write arguments based on |
| civil rights and business leaders-and are designed to | | | | relevant evidence, and seniors would be able to |
| replace the various uncoordinated ones currently | | | | convey complex ideas, concepts, and information |
| defined by the states. | | | | clearly. |
| Only Texas and Alaska did not participate. | | | | The Grades 6-12 Literacy in History/Social Studies |
| The Standards address English language arts | | | | and Science/Technical Standards include: |
| (ELA), literacy in history/social studies, science, and | | | | Identifying aspects of a text that reveal an |
| technical subjects, and mathematics, K-12. | | | | author's point or view and purpose. |
| All are "1) research and evidence-based; 2) | | | | Analyzing an author's purpose in providing an |
| aligned with college and work expectations; 3) | | | | explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an |
| rigorous; and 4) internationally benchmarked." | | | | experiment in a text, defining the question the author |
| The states are allowed to add up to 15% of | | | | seeks to address. |
| their own standards to fill in any gaps. | | | | Meanwhile, the Mathematics Standards include, for |
| If adopted nationwide, as hoped, every state-thus | | | | instance, the expectation that first graders could |
| every district-will essentially be following the same | | | | solve word problems that call for addition of three |
| curricular guidelines, thus enabling a child to transition | | | | whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to |
| smoothly from, for instance, a school in Oklahoma | | | | 20, while 5th graders could handle fractions with |
| City to one in Philadelphia, without losing any ground | | | | unlike denominators, 8th graders could use rational |
| or repeating much material. | | | | approximations of irrational numbers, and high |
| Meanwhile, state applications are now being reviewed | | | | schoolers could apply the Remainder Theorem. |
| by the U.S. Department of Education for the second | | | | Of course, adoption would force states to amend |
| round of the Race to the Top (RTTT) grant | | | | their standardized tests and curricula to mesh with |
| competition. In the first round, Pennsylvania came in | | | | the Standards. Is it worth it? |
| seventh; only Tennessee and Delaware won that | | | | Founder and chairman of the Core Knowledge |
| time. This time around, 35 states and the District of | | | | Foundation and professor emeritus of education and |
| Columbia are trying again. | | | | humanities at the University of Virginia, E.D. Hirsch, Jr. |
| Initially, Education Secretary Arne Duncan made | | | | says, "This is a welcome acknowledgement that only |
| adopting the national standards an RTTT application | | | | a cumulative, grade-by-grade curriculum, focused on |
| requirement, but organizations such as the | | | | coherent content, can lead to the high level of |
| Association for Supervision and Curriculum | | | | literacy which the nation needs. In short, the |
| Development were wary of such a mandate. As a | | | | Common Core Standards represent a fundamental |
| result, adoption now earns a state extra points on its | | | | and long overdue rethinking of the dominant |
| application. | | | | process-approach to U.S. literacy instruction." |
| Competing this second round suggests that these 36 | | | | Meanwhile, former Los Angeles Unified School District |
| applicants will likely adopt the Standards. | | | | teacher and lecturer at the UCLA Graduate School, |
| And it behooves all of us to read all of the | | | | Walt Gardner is now an education contributor to |
| Standards, which represent "what students should | | | | major newspapers and magazines. He writes that |
| understand and be able to do by the end of each | | | | "National standards are not a panacea for the ills |
| grade." | | | | afflicting public education, but they are a step in the |
| You'll find, for instance, that instead of a list of | | | | right direction. There are always risks involved in an |
| required readings, the English Language Arts | | | | undertaking of this magnitude. On balance, however, |
| Standards includes an appendix with suggestions for | | | | I think they are worth taking." |
| appropriate texts at each grade level. The exception: | | | | The bottom line: these Standards, developed, as they |
| high school juniors and seniors must study the | | | | were, by experts, will provide teachers with flexible |
| Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the | | | | guidelines they can follow as they develop lesson |
| Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Lincoln's Second | | | | plans that will meet the needs and interests of their |
| Inaugural Address, and one Shakespearean play. | | | | students. |
| Meanwhile, you'd also discover, for instance, that third | | | | And that's a plus, any way you look at it. |