When Tina Rasori teaches math to fourth- and fifth-graders at Fay Elementary School in City Heights, she expects her students to do more than calculate the correct answers.
Students work through problems and demonstrate how they arrive at answers. After conferring with classmates, they also must critique the reasoning of their peers.
This is math infused with Common Core, academic standards that are set to hit California classrooms in the 2014-15 school year. The guidelines — developed by a nationwide consortium of educators and other officials — are designed to emphasize critical-thinking skills over rote memorization and better prepare students for college and career.
“No more multiple-choice answers,” said Rasori, whose class will help pilot Common Core state assessments this spring. “The whole point of Common Core is to get us to prepare students for college and 21st-century jobs, where they probably won’t be asked multiple choice-questions.”
Schools throughout San Diego County are working to incorporate the new benchmarks into daily lessons in time for the statewide launch, which is set for fall 2014. The shift will drive changes, some of them dramatic, from kindergarten through high school.
At least 45 states have adopted Common Core, which is designed to enable them to compare academic progress with others states for the first time.
Some schools have been training their teachers for Common Core for nearly two years. Others are just getting started. Since California hasn’t provided additional funding for these preparations, teachers and principals have been establishing their own banks of resources, from related lessons collected from various websites to material obtained from workshops and conferences.
The overarching goal of Common Core is to transform how students are taught, particularly what they must do to master math, English and other subjects.
Nonfiction will be stressed over fiction, accounting for half of classroom reading in the earliest grades and growing to 70 percent by high school. Regardless of what students read, they will be pushed to analyze the text and develop opinions on its structure and purpose.
The traditional essay will continue to be assigned. So will poetry lessons. However, the new standards stress scientific reports and other nonfiction. Analytical writing that might be useful in college or the workplace will also be pushed.
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about Common Core:
Q: How were the Common Core standards developed?
A: Common Core standards started as a voluntary, state-led effort coordinated by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, with stakeholders from nearly every state in the country contributing to their development. In the fall of 2009, governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states (including California), two territories, and the District of Columbia, committed to developing a set of standards that would help prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in education and careers after high school.
The standards cover mathematics, English language arts, and literacy in various content areas for students in kindergarten through grade twelve.
Q: When do the new benchmarks take effect?
A: The California Board of Education adopted the standards in August, 2010. The state expects to implement the standards in the 2014-15 school year. Each school district in California will be charged with developing its own plan for rolling out the standards based on local needs and resources.
Q: Will the overhaul change high school graduation requirements?
A: No. State and local graduation criteria will remain the same. The changes will be seen in how students are taught the subjects, and what will be expected for them to master the content in each subject.
Q: Will Common Core eliminate any classes that are currently required of students?
A: Probably. Middle school math requirements are poised to undergo significant changes. The Common Core eliminates the push for all eighth-graders to pass algebra. The Common Core offers two math pathways for middle school: One that allows for some students to take algebra if they are ready; and another that offers general math classes that prepare students for ninth-grade algebra. Critics argue that the second track makes it difficult for students to follow a sequence that puts them in 12th-grade calculus, a course that is expected by top universities.
Q: How can educators implement the standards without new instructional materials?
A: The development of new curriculum and instructional materials aligned to the standards will likely take years. In the meantime, the California Department of Education plans to post on its website a list of supplemental instructional materials designed to bridge the gap between existing programs and those called for under the standards. Schools and districts are also working to create their own clearinghouses of best practices.
Q: How will the state gauge student performance under Common Core?
A: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torklakson has recommended that California replace its current Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) assessment program with Smarter Balanced assessments beginning in the 2014–15 school year. A consortium of states using Common Core worked to develop the new tests, which will be piloted by 1,000 schools in California this spring.
Q: Will the tests resemble the current state standardized exams?
A: No. The new tests will be administered with computers, laptops or tablets. The multiple-choice scantrons that have been the signature of state tests will be eliminated. Questions will require students to write in their answers, using their computers.
No comments:
Post a Comment