Posted by Dr. Tony Baldwin on September 12, 2012
Two terms related to curriculum – common core and essential standards are widely being discussed throughout our school system.
Significant time and effort is being dedicated to provide professional
training to classroom teachers and support staff. Just what do these
terms represent?
On
June 2, 2010 the National Governors Association Center for Best
Practices joined the Council of Chief State School Officers to
distribute the finalized version of a Common Core of State Standards.
These national standards represent the skills and knowledge students
need to obtain to be prepared for success at the freshman level of
college academics as well as entry workforce training. The overall
intent is to align curriculum, instruction, teacher preparation,
professional development, and assessment with standards for subject
content and student performance. Forty-eight states, including North
Carolina, officially committed to adopt these common standards
throughout their K-12 curriculum. Subsequently, the comprehensive
education initiative promoted by Governor Perdue - Career and College:
Ready, Set, Go! strongly aligns with common core and essential standard
reform.
Language arts and
mathematics represent the initial subject areas that will be
transitioned into common core and essential standards. Work is
already underway at the Dept. of Public Instruction to introduce in the
near future similar standards across additional areas of curriculum.