Take a closer look at Common Core, TN's new classroom standards

By Heidi Hall, The Tennessean

May 6, 2013

"'Common Core requires closer reading, gathering evidence from the text and evidence from multiple texts and being able to put the evidence together. There are strong results in states already doing it.'

Sandra Keown, seventh-grade language arts at Brentwood Middle School"

Ohio's education standards debated

By Charlie Boss and Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch

May 5, 2013

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/05/05/education-standards-debated.html

"Kirk Keller, a math coach at Pickerington's Ridgeview Junior High, said that in the past, kids have been asked to memorize rules such as a negative number multiplied by a positive number equals a negative number.

"With the Common Core, students are expected to understand why that formula is true.

"'It involves students communicating their ideas, having conjectures, testing them and defending them,' he said. 'It's all part of richness they've seen in practices in higher-performing countries.'

"Local teachers have spent years studying the new standards and aligning lesson plans accordingly. Districts have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on training and instructional materials.

"'We feel really good about the new Common Core and the new learning standards because it pushes our students to a higher level of application of the content,' said Jennifer Wene, director of academic achievement and professional development in Worthington schools.

"'The real shift is actually going to come in teaching practices. You have to teach in a very different way. ... This is something that I don't think is very apparent.'"

Oklahoma teacher: Common Core costs will be money well spent

By Heather Sparks, The Oklahoman

May 3, 2013

"District school boards across Oklahoma will determine what curriculum will be adopted to meet these standards. The biggest difference between what we have currently, the C3 standards, and CCSS, is that 45 other states have also adopted them. As a result, as a teacher, I will be confident in knowing that the performance of my students matches the rigorous standards for students in other states."

And,

"Perhaps one of the most beneficial improvements the CCSS brings to teaching and learning is that shared standards means all education professionals can be focused on creating the best materials and resources that can help move students to the next level. Gone are the days when curriculum companies created textbooks that were several hundred pages long in order to include all the standards of each individual state. Now, with the focus that comes from CCSS, textbooks will be dedicated to what students should know and understand deeply at their grade level. With fewer standards, teachers will have the time to teach for true mastery rather than racing through content."

Cobb sets back Common Core and possibly state

By Maureen Downey, The Atlanta Journal Constitution

May 2, 2013

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/may/04/cobb-sets-back-common-core-and-possibly-state/  

"One teacher told me, 'I'm using the samples of the adoption materials for a large part of my instruction at this time. The old materials simply don't match in content or rigor. As usual, the people the decision will impact the most have had virtually no voice in what will happen. I'm not political; I don't think in terms of Republican or Democrat or tea party, whatever. But it seems to me that the school board is very much doing that. They've made math materials into some sort of political platform instead of what it should be - getting our kids and teachers what they need.'"

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Achieve has developed materials to help states, districts, and others understand the organization and content of the standards and the content and evidence base used to support the standards. Visit http://www.achieve.org/achieving-common-core.

If you find a news clip supportive of the Common Core, please send it to Chad Colby at ccolby@achieve.org.