Common Core: What is it?

 

Common Core is a state education initiative that created a set of academic standards to promote accelerated academic progress and to regain ground with countries around the world. 

 

It began with former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who was the 2006-07 chair of the National Governors Association and now leads the University of California system. Every chair of the association must write an initiative per year so Napolitano wrote an initiative that had a strong concern for math and science standards. That sparked a task force  created by Napolitano of government officials, education experts, and CEOs, to lay the foundation for Common Core standards.

 

There was a clear goal with Common Core from the beginning; to get the United States back to the top of the world in math and science.

 

The Standards:

 

These are the learning goals that the curriculum is based around at every grade level to help instill the skills needed for success in post-secondary education and post high school careers. The standards are as follows:

 

 

• Research and evidence based

• Clear, understandable, and consistent

• Aligned with college and career expectations

• Based on rigorous content and the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills

• Built upon the strengths and lessons of current state standards

• Informed by other top-performing countries to prepare all students for success in our global economy and society

 

To see more about the initiative click here,