Common Core Explained

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was a multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conclusion of each school grade. The initiative was sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The initiative also sought to provide states and schools with articulated expectations around the skills students graduating from high school needed in order to be prepared to enter credit-bearing courses at two- or four-year college programs or to enter the workforce.[1]

Background

In the 1990s, a movement began in the U.S. to establish national educational standards for students across the country.

Development

In late 2008, the NGA convened a group to work on developing the standards.[3] This team included David Coleman, William McCallum of the University of Arizona, Phil Daro, Douglas Clements and Student Achievement Partners founders Jason Zimba[4] and Susan Pimentel to write standards in the areas of English language arts and mathematics.[5] Announced on June 1, 2009,[6] the initiative's stated purpose was to "provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them".[7] Additionally, "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers", which should place American students in a position in which they can compete in a global economy.[7]

Work groups composed of representatives from higher education, K-12 education, teachers, and researchers drafted the Common Core State Standards. The work groups consulted educators, administrators, community and parent organizations, higher education representatives, the business community, researchers, civil rights groups, and states for feedback on each of the drafts.[8]

The standards are copyrighted by NGA Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the CCSSO, which controls use of and licenses the standards.[9] The NGA Center and CCSSO do this by offering a public license which is used by State Departments of Education.[10] The license states that use of the standards must be "in support" of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. It also requires attribution and a copyright notice, except when a state or territory has adopted the standards "in whole".

When the CCSS was originally published, there was no intention to publish a common set of standards for English language proficiency development (ELPD). Instead, it was indicated that the ELPD standards would be left to individual states.[11] However, the need for more guidance quickly became apparent, and led to the creation of several initiatives to provide resources to states and educators, including:

The U.S. Department of Education has since funded two grants to develop the next generation of ELPD assessments, which must measure students’ proficiency against a set of common ELPD standards, which in turn correspond to the college/career-ready standards in English language arts and mathematics. The new assessment system must also:

Adoption

41 states and the District of Columbia joined the Common Core State Standards Initiative; Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Alaska, Nebraska, Indiana and South Carolina did not.[13] Minnesota adopted the English Language Arts standards but not the Mathematics standards.[14] Following pushback and reductions in financial support, the project lost momentum and at least 12 states introducing legislation to prohibit implementation.[15] Eventually, multiple states that initially adopted the Common Core Standards decided to repeal or replace them including Indiana, Arizona, Oklahoma,[16] South Carolina, and Florida also abandoned the standard.[17] New York State would eventually replace their version of the Common Core Standards with The Next Generation Learning Standards.[18]

Standards were released for mathematics and English language arts on June 2, 2010, with a majority of states adopting the standards in the subsequent months. States were given an incentive to adopt the Common Core Standards through the possibility of competitive federal Race to the Top grants. U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the Race to the Top competitive grants on July 24, 2009, as a motivator for education reform. To be eligible, states had to adopt "internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the work place."[19] Though states could adopt other college- and career-ready standards and still be eligible, they were awarded extra points in their Race to the Top applications if they adopted the Common Core standards by August 2, 2010. Forty-one states made the promise in their application.[20] [21] Virginia and Texas were two states that chose to write their own college and career-ready standards, and were subsequently eligible for Race to the Top. Development of the Common Core Standards was funded by the governors and state schools chiefs, with additional support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Pearson Publishing Company, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and others.[22]

The Every Student Succeeds Act, passed in December 2015, replaced No Child Left Behind Act, and prohibited the Department of Education from attempting to "influence, incentivize, or coerce State adoption of the Common Core State Standards ... or any other academic standards common to a significant number of States."[23]

Other content areas adopted a national approach to learning standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards, released in April 2012[24] and were subsequently adopted by many states. They are not directly related to the Common Core standards, but their content can be cross-connected to the mathematical and English Language Arts standards within the Common Core.[25] [26]

English Language Arts standards

The stated goal of the English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects standards[27] is to ensure that students are college and career ready in literacy no later than the end of high school. There are five key components to the standards for English and Language Arts: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Media and Technology.[28] The essential components and breakdown of each of these key points within the standards are as follows:

Reading
Writing
Speaking and listening
Language
Media and technology

Mathematics standards

See also: Mathematics education in the United States. The stated goal of the mathematics standards is to achieve greater focus and coherence in the curriculum.[34] This is largely in response to the criticism that American mathematics curricula are "a mile wide and an inch deep".[35]

The mathematics standards include Standards for Mathematical Practice and Standards for Mathematical Content.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

The Standards mandate that eight principles of mathematical practice be taught:[36]

  1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
  2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
  3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
  4. Model with mathematics.
  5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
  6. Attend to precision.
  7. Look for and make use of structure.
  8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The practices are adapted from the five process standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the five strands of proficiency in the U.S. National Research Council's Adding It Up report.[37] These practices are to be taught in every grade from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Details of how these practices are to be connected to each grade level's mathematics content are left to local implementation of the Standards.

Standards for Mathematical Content

The standards lay out the mathematics content that should be learned at each grade level from kindergarten to Grade 8 (age 13–14), as well as the mathematics to be learned in high school. The standards do not dictate any particular pedagogy or what order topics should be taught within a particular grade level. Mathematical content is organized in a number of domains. At each grade level there are several standards for each domain, organized into clusters of related standards.

Mathematics domains at each grade level
Domain Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8
Counting and Cardinality X                
Operations and Algebraic Thinking X X X X X X      
Number and Operations in Base 10 X X X X X X      
Measurement and DataX X X X X X      
GeometryX X X X X X X X X
Number and Operations—Fractions      X X X      
Ratios and Proportional Relationships             X X  
The Number System             X X X
Expressions and Equations            X X X
Statistics and Probability            X X X
Functions                X
In addition to detailed standards (of which there are 21 to 28 for each grade from kindergarten to eighth grade), the standards present an overview of "critical areas" for each grade.

There are six conceptual categories of content to be covered at the high school level:

Some topics in each category are indicated only for students intending to take more advanced, optional courses such as calculus, advanced statistics, or discrete mathematics. Even if the traditional sequence is adopted, functions and modeling are to be integrated across the curriculum, not taught as separate courses. Mathematical Modeling is a Standard for Mathematical Practice (see above), and is meant to be integrated across the entire curriculum beginning in kindergarten. The modeling category does not have its own standards; instead, high school standards in other categories which are intended to be considered part of the modeling category are indicated in the standards with a star symbol.

Each of the six high school categories includes a number of domains. For example, the "number and quantity" category contains four domains: the real number system; quantities; the complex number system; and vector and matrix quantities. The "vector and matrix quantities" domain is reserved for advanced students, as are some of the standards in "the complex number system".

In high school (Grades 9 to 12), the standards do not specify which content is to be taught at each grade level, nor does the Common Core prescribe how a particular standard should be taught. Up to Grade 8, the curriculum is integrated; students study four or five different mathematical domains every year. The standards do not dictate whether the curriculum should continue to be integrated in high school with study of several domains each year (as is done in other countries), or whether the curriculum should be separated out into separate year-long algebra and geometry courses (as has been the tradition in most U.S. states). An appendix[38] to the standards describes four possible pathways for covering high school content (two traditional and two integrated), but states are free to organize the content any way they want.

Key shifts

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics shifted the way the United States teaches math in three core ways. They built on the pre-existing standards to emphasize the skills and knowledge students will not only need in college, but in their career and in life as well.[39] The key shifts are:

  1. Greater focus on fewer topics
  2. Coherence: Linking topics and thinking across grades
  3. Rigor: Pursue conceptual understanding, procedural skills and fluency, and application with equal intensity

As an example, here is the description of one of the key shifts, a greater focus on fewer topics:

The Common Core calls for greater focus in mathematics. Rather than racing to cover many topics in a mile-wide, inch deep curriculum, the standards ask math teachers to significantly narrow and deepen the way time and energy are spent in the classroom. This means focusing deeply on the major work of each grade as follows:

This focus will help students gain strong foundations, including a solid understanding of concepts, a high degree of procedural skill and fluency, and the ability to apply the math they know to solve problems inside and outside the classroom.

Assessment

The impetus for assessment was not a function of the Common Core project, but to ensure states' continued compliance with the testing mandates of No Child Left Behind which required standards-aligned assessments in math and ELA in grades 3-8 and once again in high school. Two consortiums formed to create multi-state assessments, taking two different approaches.[40] The final decision of which assessment to use was determined by individual state education agencies. Both of these consortiums proposed computer-based exams that include fewer selected and constructed response test items, unlike most states' existing No Child Left Behind tests.

As of October 2015, SBAC membership was reduced to 20 members: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bureau of Indian Education, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming.[42]

While some states are working together to create a common, universal assessment based on the Common Core State Standards, other states are choosing to work independently or through these two consortiums to develop the assessment.[43] Florida Governor Rick Scott directed his state education board to withdraw from PARCC.[44] Georgia withdrew from the consortium test in July 2013 in order to develop its own.[45] Michigan decided not to participate in Smarter Balanced testing.[46] Oklahoma tentatively withdrew from the consortium test in July 2013 due to the technical challenges of online assessment.[47] Utah withdrew from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium in August 2012.[48]

Reception and criticism

The Common Core State Standards have drawn both support and criticism from politicians, analysts, and commentators. Teams of academics and educators from around the United States led the development of the standards, and additional validation teams approved the final standards. The teams drew on public feedback that was solicited throughout the process and that feedback was incorporated into the standards.[49] The Common Core initiative only specifies what students should know at each grade level and describes the skills that they must acquire in order to achieve college or career readiness. Individual school districts are responsible for choosing curricula based on the standards.[49] Textbooks bearing a Common Core label are not verified by any agency and may or may not represent the intent of the Common Core Standards. Some critics believe most current textbooks are not actually aligned to the Common Core, while others disagree.[50]

The mathematicians Edward Frenkel and Hung-Hsi Wu wrote in 2013 that the mathematical education in the United States was in "deep crisis", caused by the way math was being taught in schools. Both agreed that math textbooks, which were widely adopted across the states, already create "mediocre de facto national standards". The texts, they said, were "often incomprehensible and irrelevant". The Common Core State Standards address these issues and "level the playing field" for students. They point out that adoption of the Common Core State Standards and how best to test students are two separate issues.[51]

In 2012, Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution called into question whether the standards will have any effect, and said that they "have done little to equalize academic achievement within states". In response to the standards, the libertarian Cato Institute claimed that "it is not the least bit paranoid to say the federal government wants a national curriculum."[52] According to a study published by the Pioneer Institute, although the standards themselves are sound, their method of implementation has failed to deliver improvements in literacy, while numeracy has actually declined, due to the imposition of the mediocre curriculum sequences used in a number of mid-performing states, and the "progressive" teaching methods that are popular among Common Core developers. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said her state should not "relinquish control of education to the federal government, neither should we cede it to the consensus of other states."[53]

Educational analysts from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute determined that the Common Core standards "are clearly superior to those currently in use in 39 states in math and 37 states in English. For 33 states, the Common Core is superior in both math and reading."[53] [54] In a follow-up study,[55] researchers found that while some states were committed to updating their standards, more resources were still needed to ensure adequate implementation of those standards, including adequate course material, capacity to deliver assessments, and accountability systems.[56]

According to the National Education Association, the Common Core State Standards are supported by 76% of its teacher members.[57] Research from the Fordham Institute confirmed that many teachers support Common Core, but also found that the use of multiple methods to teach a single subject negatively impacted students' and parents' perceptions of these standards.[58]

The Heritage Foundation argued in 2010 that the Common Core's focus on national standards would do little to fix deeply ingrained problems and incentive structures within the education system.[59]

Marion Brady, a teacher, and Patrick Murray, an elected member of the school governing board in Bradford, Maine, wrote that Common Core drains initiative from teachers and enforces a "one-size-fits-all" curriculum that ignores cultural differences among classrooms and students.[60] [61] Diane Ravitch, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education and education historian, wrote in her book Reign of Error that the Common Core standards have never been field-tested and that no one knows whether they will improve education.[62] Nicholas Tampio, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, said that the standards emphasize rote learning and uniformity over creativity.[63]

Michigan State University's Distinguished Professor William Schmidt wrote:

The standards require certain critical content for all students, including: classic myths and stories from around the world, America's Founding Documents, foundational American literature, and Shakespeare.[64] In May 2013, the National Catholic Educational Association noted that the standards are a "set of high-quality academic expectations that all students should master by the end of each grade level" and are "not a national curriculum".[65]

Advancing one Catholic perspective, over one hundred college-level scholars signed a public letter criticizing the Common Core for diminishing the humanities in the educational curriculum: The "Common Core adopts a bottom-line, pragmatic approach to education and the heart of its philosophy is, as far as we can see, that it is a waste of resources to 'over-educate' people,"[66] though the Common Core set only minimum—not maximum—standards. Mark Naison, Fordham University Professor, and co-founder of the Badass Teachers Association, raised a similar objection: "The liberal critique of Common Core is that this is a huge profit-making enterprise that costs school districts a tremendous amount of money, and pushes out the things kids love about school, like art and music".[67]

As Common Core is implemented in New York, the new tests have been criticized. Some parents have said that the new assessments are too difficult and are causing too much stress, leading to an "opt-out movement" in which parents refuse to let their children take the tests.[68]

Former governor Jeb Bush has said of opponents of the standards that while "criticisms and conspiracy theories are easy attention grabbers", he instead wanted to hear their solutions to the problems in American education.[69] In 2014, Bobby Jindal wrote that "It has become fashionable in the news media to believe there is a right-wing conspiracy against Common Core."[70]

Diane Ravitch has also stated:

Writer Jonathan Kozol uses the metaphor "cognitive decapitation" to describe the unfulfilling educational experience students are going through due to the subjects that have been excluded in their curriculum as a result of the Common Core.[71] He notes cognitive decapitation is often experienced in urban schools of color, while white children have the privilege to continue engaging in a creative curriculum that involves the arts.

In 2016, ACT, Inc., administrators of the ACT college readiness assessment, reported that there is a disconnect between what is emphasized in the Common Core and what is deemed important for college readiness by some college instructors.[72] ACT has been a proponent of the Common Core Standards, and Chief Executive Officer Martin Roorda stated that "ACT's findings should not be interpreted as a rebuke of the Common Core."

Impact

Kentucky was the first to implement the Common Core State Standards, and local school districts began offering new math and English curricula based on the standard in August 2010. In 2013, Time magazine reported that the high school graduation rate had increased from 80 percent in 2010 to 86 percent in 2013, test scores went up 2 percentage points in the second year of using the Common Core test, and the percentage of students considered to be ready for college or a career, based on a battery of assessments, went up from 34 percent in 2010 to 54 percent in 2013.[73] According to Sarah Butrymowicz from The Atlantic,

Kentucky's experience over the past three school years suggests it will be a slow and potentially frustrating road ahead for the other states that are using the Common Core. Test scores are still dismal, and state officials have expressed concern that the pace of improvement is not fast enough. Districts have also seen varying success in changing how teachers teach, something that was supposed to change under the new standards.[74]

The Common Core State Standards are considered to be more rigorous than the standards they replaced in Kentucky. Kentucky's old standards received a "D" in an analysis by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. School officials in Kentucky believe it will take several more years to adjust to the new standards, which received an A− in math and a B+ in English from the Fordham Institute.[74] [75]

A working paper found that Common Core had a small but significant negative effect in grade 4 reading and grade 8 mathematics based on National Assessment of Educational Progress scores.[76] [77]

Implementation may be one of the major reasons why early results have been uneven. District administration and teachers have, in many cases, lacked the appropriate professional development, instructional materials, and Common Core-aligned assessments to support effective implementation of the new standards.[78] [79] As of 2023, 41 states continue to use the Common Core curriculum.[80]

Adoption and implementation by states

See main article: Common Core implementation by state. The chart below contains the adoption status of the Common Core State Standards as of March 21, 2019. Among the territories of the United States (not listed in the chart below), the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the American Samoa Islands have adopted the standards while Puerto Rico has not adopted the standards.[81] As of May 12, 2015, five states have repealed Common Core. Nine additional member states have legislation in some stage of the process that would repeal Common Core participation.[81]

State Adoption stance Notes
Alabama State school board voted to drop the program.[82]
Alaska
Arizona The Arizona State Board of Education voted to reject Common Core on October 26, 2015. The vote was 6–2 in favor of repeal.[83]
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida Dropped in favor of "Florida State Standards", which are based on Common Core standards.[84] On February 12. 2020, the Florida State Board of Education voted to rescind the Common Core standards and replace them with the Florida B.E.S.T. standards.[85]
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana Implementation paused by law for one year in May 2013 and under public review;[86] withdrew in March 2014, but retained many of the standards.[87]
Iowa
Kansas Defunding legislation passed Senate, narrowly failed in House in July 2013.[88]
Kentucky
Louisiana Governor signed executive order to withdraw state from PARCC assessment program. (June 2014).
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts Delayed Common Core testing for two years in November 2013.[89] Ballot question on future of standards in 2016 has been ruled against by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court as of August 12, 2016.[90]
Michigan Implementation was paused for a time but was approved to continue.[91]
Minnesota English standards only, math standards rejected.
Mississippi Withdrew from PARCC testing on January 16, 2015.[92]
Missouri Withdrew in 2014 after legislative pressure from state lawmakers. Replaced with Missouri Learning Standards in 2018.
Montana
Nebraska [93]
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey Adopted New Jersey Student Learning Standards in lieu of Common Core beginning in the 2017–2018 school year.[94]
New Mexico
New York Full implementation of assessment delayed until 2022.[95]
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma Legislation restoring state standards signed June 5, 2014.[96]
Oregon
Pennsylvania Paused implementation in May 2013.[97]
Rhode Island
South Carolina A bill to repeal the Standards beginning in the 2015–2016 school year was officially signed by Governor Nikki Haley in June 2014 after deliberation in the state legislature.[98]
South Dakota
Tennessee Tennessee passed a law to phase out common core in 2016.[99] The new standard, The Tennessee Academic Standards, were implemented in English and Math for the 2017/2018 school year.[100]
Texas
Utah [101]
Vermont
Virginia [102]
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Frequently Asked Questions . Common Core State Standards Initiative . December 4, 2013 . February 26, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140226221237/http://www.corestandards.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions . dead .
  2. Gibbs . T. H. . Howley . A . 2000 . 'World-Class Standards' and Local Pedagogies: Can We Do Both? Thresholds in Education . . 51–55.
  3. Web site: Common Core State Standards Initiative. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 2024-02-12.
  4. Hess, Frederick (February 28, 2013). Straight Up Conversation: Common Core Guru Jason Zimba. Education Next.
  5. News: Heitin. Liana. The Common-Core Reading Standard That Should Have Been. Education Week. February 9, 2016. Education Week. May 6, 2016.
  6. Web site: Forty-Nine States and Territories Join Common Core Standards Initiative . . October 4, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131004230129/http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/page_2009/col2-content/main-content-list/title_forty-nine-states-and-territories-join-common-core-standards-initiative.html . October 4, 2013 . mdy-all .
  7. Web site: Implementing the Common Core State Standards . Common Core State Standards Initiative . October 4, 2013.
  8. Web site: Nelson . Libby . 2014-10-07 . Everything you need to know about the Common Core . 2022-09-13 . Vox . en.
  9. http://www.corestandards.org/terms-of-use Common Core State Standards Initiative | Terms of Use
  10. http://www.corestandards.org/public-license Common Core State Standards Initiative | Public License
  11. Web site: Overview of the Common Core State Standards Initiatives for ELLs.
  12. News: Standards That Impact English Language Learners. Staehr Fenner. Diane. 2012-03-09. Colorín Colorado. 2018-03-07. en.
  13. Web site: States adopting the Core Standards . Corestandards.org . June 27, 2014 . February 26, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140226022038/http://www.corestandards.org/in-the-states . dead .
  14. https://www.mprnews.org/amp/story/2012/06/12/daily-circuit-minnesota-adopting-common-core "Why Did Minnesota Skip the Math Common Core Standards?"
  15. News: Common Core Isn't a Government Conspiracy. Bloomberg.com. February 10, 2014.
  16. Web site: Bidwell . Allie . August 20, 2014 . Common Core Support in Free Fall . . July 7, 2022 . When Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican who initially supported the standards, announced in June that her state would no longer use them, ....
  17. Web site: Burnside . Tina . April 19, 2022 . Florida rejects 41% of new math textbooks, citing critical race theory among its reasons . . July 7, 2022.
  18. Web site: Next Generation Learning Standards . 2024-02-11 . New York State Education Department . en.
  19. Web site: July 24, 2009 . President Obama, U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan Announce National Competition to Advance School Reform . . February 18, 2014.
  20. Fletcher . G. H. . 2010 . Race to the Top: No District Left Behind . . 37 . 10 . 17–18 . March 14, 2014.
  21. Web site: 2012 . Fulfilling the Promise of the Common Core State Standards: Moving from Adoption to Implementation to Sustainability . ASCD . March 19, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140319145451/http://educore.ascd.org/resource/Download/1d60f46d-b786-41d1-b059-95a7c4eda420 . March 19, 2014 . Although states were not required to adopt the Common Core State Standards to compete for Race to the Top dollars, they were at an advantage if they did so. The initiative's scoring system awarded additional point to states for promising to adopt those standards by August 2, 2010. Many of the states – 41 in total – that applied for Race to the Top funds promised in their applications to adopt the Common Core State Standards..
  22. News: Anderson . Nick . March 10, 2010 . Common Set of School Standards to Be Proposed . . A1.
  23. News: Korte . Gregory . December 11, 2015 . The Every Student Succeeds Act vs. No Child Left Behind: What's changed? . USA Today . December 18, 2015.
  24. Web site: Developing the Standards Next Generation Science Standards . 2024-02-11 . www.nextgenscience.org.
  25. Web site: Appendix L — Connections to the Common Core Standards for Mathematics . Next Generation Science Standards . October 16, 2013.
  26. Web site: Appendix M — Connections to the Common Core Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects . Next Generation Science Standards . October 16, 2013.
  27. Web site: Common Core State Standards For English Language Arts & Literacy In History/Social Studies, Science, And Technical Subjects . Common Core State Standards Initiative . February 7, 2014 . September 2, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190902093836/http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf . dead .
  28. Web site: Key Points in English Language Arts . Common Core State Standards Initiative . February 7, 2014.
  29. News: Molly . Walsh . Vermont Joins 30 Others in Common Core . https://archive.today/20120731040559/http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100914/NEWS02/100913028/Vermont-schools-study-new-standards . dead . July 31, 2012 . . 1B . September 14, 2010 .
  30. Web site: English Language Arts Standards, Retrieved May 14, 2020 . May 14, 2020 . June 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210610055055/http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/ . dead .
  31. Web site: Appendix A, research supporting Key elements of the standards, corestandards.org, Retrieved May 14, 2020 . May 14, 2020 . April 3, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200403200742/http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf . dead .
  32. News: Hawaii No Longer Requires Teaching Cursive In Schools . . August 1, 2011 . January 9, 2014 . Emmeline . Zhao.
  33. News: Rueb . Emily . April 13, 2019 . Cursive Seemed to Go the Way of Quills and Parchment. Now It's Coming Back . The New York Times . May 15, 2019.
  34. Web site: Common Core State Standards for Mathematics . Common Core State Standards Initiative . 3 . February 11, 2014 . October 19, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131019052731/http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf . dead .
  35. Web site: Mathematics. Common Core State Standards Initiative. January 8, 2014.
  36. Web site: Common Core State Standards for Mathematics . Common Core State Standards Initiative . 6 . February 11, 2014 . October 19, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131019052731/http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf . dead .
  37. Garfunkel, S. A. (2010). "The National Standards Train: You Need to Buy Your Ticket". The UMAP Journal. 31 (4): 277–280.
  38. Web site: Common Core State Standards for Mathematics: Appendix A: Designing High School Mathematics Courses Based on Common Core State Standards . Common Core Standards Initiative . January 15, 2014.
  39. Web site: Key Shifts in Mathematics Common Core State Standards Initiative. www.corestandards.org. 2020-02-12.
  40. Web site: Education Insider: Common Core State Standards and Assessment Coalitions . . September 9, 2010 . February 11, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140202233810/http://www.whiteboardadvisors.com/research/education-insider-common-core-standards-and-assessment-coalitions . February 2, 2014 . mdy-all .
  41. Web site: Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium . January 23, 2014.
  42. Web site: Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. February 21, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150223010619/http://www.smarterbalanced.org/about/member-states/. February 23, 2015. dead.
  43. Web site: Common Core State Standards Initiative . In the States . January 27, 2014 . February 26, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140226022038/http://www.corestandards.org/in-the-states . dead .
  44. News: Khristopher . Brooks. . Common Core Still Moving Ahead in Florida . October 16, 2013 . February 3, 2014.
  45. Web site: Bailey . Pritchett . Heartland Foundation . Common Core Testing Costs Increase; Georgia Withdraws . February 3, 2014.
  46. Web site: Michigan Gives Final OK to Common Core Standards . . November 2, 2013 . February 4, 2014.
  47. News: Benjamin . Herold . . Tech Challenges Lead Oklahoma to Opt Out of PARCC Exams . July 3, 2013 . February 4, 2014.
  48. News: Lisa . Schencker . . Utah drops out of consortium developing Common Core tests . August 1, 2012 . February 4, 2014.
  49. Web site: The Truth About Common Core . April 3, 2013 . Porter-Magee, Kathleen . . August 26, 2013.
  50. News: Review of Math Programs Comes Under Fire . March 17, 2015 . Heitin, Liana . Education Week . October 26, 2017.
  51. News: Republicans Should Love Common Core . May 6, 2013 . Frenkel, Edward . . August 26, 2013.
  52. News: Common Core Standards Drive Wedge in Education Circles . Toppo, Greg . . May 1, 2012 . March 23, 2013.
  53. News: School-standards pushback . Stephanie Banchero . . May 8, 2012 . March 23, 2013.
  54. Web site: State of State Standards & the Common Core in 2010 – Executive Summary . . August 26, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131102220412/http://standards.educationgadfly.net/ccss/executive_summary/ . November 2, 2013.
  55. Web site: The State of State Standards Post-Common Core.
  56. Web site: Stay the Course on National Standards. January 14, 2020.
  57. http://neatoday.org/2013/09/12/nea-poll-majority-of-educators-support-the-common-core-state-standards/ NEA Poll: Majority of Educators Support the Common Core State Standards
  58. Web site: Common Core Math in the K-8 Classroom: Results from a National Teacher Survey.
  59. Web site: Why National Standards Won't Fix American Education: Misalignment of Power and Incentives . Burke, Lindsey . Marshall, Jennifer A. . May 21, 2010 . . March 22, 2013.
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  62. Book: Ravitch, Diane . Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools . . 2013 . When the Obama administration put forward the criteria for Race to the Top grants, one of the primary requirements was that the state adopt a common set of high-quality standards, in collaboration with other states, that were internationally benchmarked and led to "college and career readiness." These were widely understood to be the Common Core standards. In short order, almost every state agreed to adopt them, even states with clearly superior standards like Massachusetts and Indiana, despite the fact that these new standards had never been field-tested anywhere. No one can say with certainty whether the Common Core standards will improve education, whether they will reduce or increase achievement gaps among different groups, or how much it will cost to implement them. Some scholars believe they will make no difference, and some critics say they will cost billions to implement; others say they will lead to more testing..
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  64. Web site: Frequently Asked Questions . Common Core State Standards Initiative . August 26, 2013 . February 26, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140226221237/http://www.corestandards.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions . dead .
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  66. News: Catholic Scholars Blast Common Core in Letter to U.S. Bishops . November 7, 2013 . The Washington Post.
  67. Web site: For Common Core, A New challenge – From the Left . . November 7, 2013.
  68. Louis C.K. Against the Common Core . Rebecca . Mead . . May 1, 2014 . May 2, 2014.
  69. News: Jeb Bush to Common Core opponents: 'conspiracy theories are easy attention grabbers . Leary . Alex . October 17, 2013 . Tampa Bay Times . October 17, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131017154221/http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/jeb-bush-to-common-core-opponents-conspiracy-theories-are-easy-attention/2147666 . October 17, 2013 . mdy-all .
  70. News: Gov. Jindal: Leave education to local control . Jindal . Bobby . April 23, 2014 . www.usatoday.com . USA Today . July 7, 2014.
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  73. News: Amanda . Ripley . The New Smart Set: What Happens When Millions of Kids Are Asked to Master Fewer Things More Deeply? . . September 30, 2013 . 36.
  74. Web site: Sarah . Butrymowicz . What Kentucky Can Teach the Rest of the U.S. About the Common Core . . October 15, 2013 . December 20, 2013.
  75. News: The Commonwealth of Common Core: What Florida Can Learn from Kentucky . O'Connor, John . . October 21, 2013 . November 18, 2013.
  76. Web site: Song: Did Common Core Standards Work? New Study Finds Small but Disturbing Negative Impacts on Students' Academic Achievement. Song. Mengli. June 4, 2019 . en-US. 2019-06-14.
  77. Web site: Nearly a decade later, did the Common Core work?. 2019-04-29. . 2019-06-14.
  78. Web site: Reading and Writing Instruction in America's Schools. Griffith. David. Duffett, Ann. Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 2018.
  79. Web site: Common Core in the Districts: An Early Look at Early Implementers. Cristol. Katie. Ramsey, Brinton S.. Thomas B. Fordham Institute (you can link this if you want). 2014.
  80. Web site: Standards in Your State | Common Core State Standards Initiative .
  81. Web site: Jindal order would make Louisiana latest state to pull out of Common Core . . June 27, 2014.
  82. AL.com: "Common Core: Alabama Votes to Distance Itself from Controversial Standards". November 16, 2013.
  83. ABC15.com: "Arizona Board of Education votes to reject Common Core standards" . November 26, 2015.
  84. News: Florida state officials drop 'Common Core' in favor of 'Florida Standards'. January 23, 2014. EAGnews.org. November 11, 2016.
  85. Web site: Florida's B.E.S.T.: Here's what's next for the state's new educational standard. February 12, 2020.
  86. Web site: DIGEST OF HB 1427 . April 26, 2013.
  87. Web site: Gary . Fineout . Tim . Tally . Indiana Becomes First State to Drop Common Core . . March 24, 2014 . March 26, 2014.
  88. News: Dion . Lefler . Demonstrators Protest Outside office of Americans for Prosperity . . July 10, 2013 . February 20, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140227194736/http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/10/2883171/demonstrators-protest-outside.html . February 27, 2014 . mdy-all .
  89. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/state_edwatch/2013/11/two-year_transition_to_common-core_tests_approved_in_massachusetts.html "Two-Year Transition to Common-Core Tests Approved in Massachusetts"
  90. News: Tuoti. Gerry. SJC rules against Common Core ballot question. August 16, 2016. The Herald News. July 1, 2016.
  91. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/11/02/michigan-gives-final-ok-to-common-core-standards/ "Michigan Gives Final OK to Common Core Standards"
  92. Web site: Lt. Governor releases statement on withdrawal from PARCC. Erin Lowrey. January 16, 2015. msnewsnow.com. January 21, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150121174337/http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/27869715/lt-governor-releases-statement-on-withdrawal-from-parcc. January 21, 2015. dead.
  93. News: Nebraska One of Few States Not Adopting Standards . . January 5, 2013.
  94. Web site: N.J. Revises, renames Common Core academic standards. May 5, 2016.
  95. Web site: Regents Adjust Common Core Implementation: Full Implementation Delayed until 2022: Teachers, Students Protected from Impact of Assessment Transition: inBloom Delayed . . February 10, 2014 . April 28, 2015.
  96. Web site: Oklahoma repeals Common Core education standards . Fox News . June 5, 2014 . June 27, 2014.
  97. http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/corbett_orders_delay_in_common.html "Corbett Orders Delay in Common Core Academic Standards' Implementation"
  98. News: Education Week. S.C. Governor Signs Bill Requiring State to Replace Common Core. June 4, 2014. Ujifusa. Andrew.
  99. News: Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Stripping Common Core . U.S. News & World Report . May 12, 2015.
  100. News: Aldrich . Marta W. . 26 June 2017 . Common Core is out. Tennessee Academic Standards are in. Here's how teachers are prepping for the change. . en . .
  101. News: Resources: Parent's Guide to Student Success . UtahPTA. March 7, 2024.
  102. News: Why There's a Backlash Against Common Core . . April 8, 2013.