Common Core Education

A major change is happening in the American educational system where all States are moving to start using the same set of academic standards in public schools.

With the United States moving down the list in terms of worldwide educational ranking, the government is confident that having standards that are internationally bench-marked can begin to turn that trend around.

The intended goal is to help students graduate with the skills they need to succeed after high school. Whether they choose the path of continuing their education by attending college or electing to join the workforce, either way they are provided with a framework that better prepares them for life ahead.

The business sector raised concerns with their dismay in not finding enough skilled workers in the US and that America could fall behind in innovation. The Common Core Education could alleviate this to a certain degree. The alignment of standards, allow States to more accurately be compared. With a like set of standards and assessments, the quality of education between States could be accurately compared. This could breed competition between States which could translate to higher student achievement overall.

A major bonus is the reduction of costs. School testing is a billion dollar industry. Each State has developed their own tests to match their adopted state-standards. With Common Core, there is no need to develop individual State testing and States can share the burden of this expense resulting in drastic reduction.

These are a few of the many aspects of the Common Core Education that the government has outlined to back its confidence that this new system will help children learn better and prepare them for their adult lives. On an international basis, they compare favorable with the rest of the world’s academic standards.

As with every change, there are those who stand to oppose it and the Common Core Education is no different.

Many believe that this new educational system will be a difficult adjustment for both students and teachers. They have painted a picture of difficult transition, as it is not the way many teachers are used to teaching and not the way many students are used to learning.

Common Core, the critics say, will require younger students to learn more at a quicker pace than they did before. With the increased rigor and higher level thinking skills, early childhood programs will become more rigid. Pre-Kindergarten will be more important and skills students used to learn in second grade will need to be taught in Kindergarten.

Also of concern is the fact that Common Core will not have an equivalency test for students with special needs. Under the old system, many States provide students with a modified version of the test. There will no longer be a modified version offered. 100% of the school’s population will have their results reported for accountability purposes. Students with learning and attention issues may experience more issues under Common Core.

It is the government’s belief that students are getting a strong education no matter what State they live in. The critics are saying there will be no instant results, slow progress if any!