...of agreement with the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, committing to a state-led process; the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Finally it felt that the public’s decade’s long outcry for change was heard. As with any change there is resistance however and quite unexpectedly the uproar has caused certain states to question their involvement in the initiative. So while the public and its educators are in an uproar over education reform they are not happy with the chosen method of implementing common core state standards here in the United States. America needs this reform in order to remain a forerunner in the international standings a market where we have continued to fall, and while a majority scrambles for insight they should turn to the minority that has gotten it right the state of Michigan in particular who has made all of its recourses available for the remaining states to use for free. State education standards have been about since the 1990s. By the early 2000s, every state had established and implemented its own education standards that stipulate what students in grades three through eight and high school should be able to accomplish. Every state also had its own classification of aptitude; this lack of standardization was one motivation why states decided to cultivate the Common Core State...
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...Introduction to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Grade-level version Preparing Oregon’s Students When Oregon adopted the Common Core in October 2010, our state joined other states in the pursuit of a common, standards-based education for our students, kindergarten through high school. Common standards can increase the likelihood that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in college and the work place. Because skillful reading, writing, language use, and speaking and listening are similar across the states, common standards make sense. They make possible common assessments, common achievement goals for grade level groups, and efficiencies of scale for instructional and professional development materials. Instruction in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects—“the Standards”—will prepare Oregon students and students in other CCSS states to be proficient in the four strands of the English language arts (ELA) skills—Reading, Writing, Language, and Speaking and Listening. Utilizing Content Area Expertise Because students need grade-level literacy skills to access full content in school, the emphasis in the Common Core is to learn to read and write in ELA and to develop those skills, specific to the content, in all other classes. The name of the...
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...Does America Need the Common Core? Because of the lack of educational benchmarks and standardization in the United States of America, the country is disjointed and subpar leaving students ill prepared to enter the workforce and college. This is evidenced by the persistent problem of students graduating and passing required exit exams in high school yet they still needed remediation upon entry to college. The Common Core is good because it provides a set of age appropriate learning goals and sets a national high-quality academic standard for Math and English to prepare students for college and the workforce. In essence, the Common Core defines what a student should know and be able to do at different grade levels. The Common Core is beneficial to all students, especially for those students interested in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education or ‘STEM’ fields. They both teach problem solving skills and focus on learning to use Common Core modules for optimum results. In addition, students learn to think outside the box, they learn how to create a good argument, defend the argument, and look for patterns. Learning these skills will increase their problem solving and reasoning abilities, which prepares them for STEM jobs. Desiree Hall, writes, “The new work is challenging, based on rigorous new Common Core State Standards…they have to explain how they got it. That’s a real brain workout”(Hall). Moreover, the implementation of the Common Core makes it harder for...
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...Effects of Michigan Common Core State Standards on Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Classrooms Effects of Michigan Common Core State Standards on Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Classrooms Introduction As an early childhood teacher in 2013, I am constantly feeling challenged and overwhelmed by mandated curriculum from the State of Michigan. With the recent implementation of Michigan Common Core State Standards, I began to feel the pressure of teaching curriculum that the children do not seem to understand. I began to wonder why? Is it because I failed to deliver the lesson? Is it due to concepts being too difficult? Are the standards appropriate for all learners and where they are in their development? During my career spanning over twenty years, I have believed and am dedicated to providing a classroom environment that is developmentally appropriate for my early learners. I believe the problem is that Michigan's Common Core State Standards are causing early childhood teachers to teach in ways that are not developmentally appropriate. These beliefs brought me to this topic and caused me to ponder if others feel the way I do. Are the Common Core State Standards mandated by the state of Michigan are creating early childhood classrooms that are not developmentally appropriate as perceived by myself and my colleagues. I believe that early childhood classrooms should be free of mandates from the...
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...Katy Warren 10/2/14 Math 211 CCSS Section 1.1 Mathematical Practices: Be able to look at a problem and break it down in a way that you can understand it. Don't give up, keep working through even if your first attempt was wrong. Reason abstractly, you use symbols to represent unknown quantities. Know what the quantities mean in your problem, and use either decontextulize or contextualize the problem and the quantities. Form arguments to back up your findings, and to help critique other student's. State your assumptions, definitions, and other arguments that helped solve this problem. Use the mathematics you have learned and apply it to everyday life. Using these tools to simplify big problems into smaller chunks. Weed out the important information from the extra bits. After you pick out the important information see if it makes sense given the situation. Use the proper mathematical tools to solve the given problem. When possible, use technology in order to gain a deeper understanding of the problem. Be precise when you are solving the problem and explaining your thinking as you were working through it. Have clear definitions for the steps or processes you used, and define what each of your chosen symbols mean. Include units whenever necessary., always label any graphs you use, and make sure that the answer that you get at the end makes sense in the context of the problem. Students can identify patterns and use any appropriate shortcuts to easily solve the problem. Grade-level...
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...Some see the implementation of Common Core as a useful tool, that helps construct better lessons to teach. Lucy Boyd a former teacher at North Star Academy Vailsburg Middle School would agree with statement when she writes as the Common Core standards suggest. “We chose key vocabulary words from each work and included discussions of broader concepts such as imperialism and internal oppression. We created lengthy writing assignments that asked students to compare and contrast nonfiction and fiction texts about the same topic, such as Julius Lester's To Be a Slave and Walter Dean Myers's The Glory Field”. While Boyd is correct by arguing that Common Core helps teachers create lessons plans, she is wrong that Common Core helps students. Boyd may...
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...The Common Core Curriculum The common core curriculum is very touchy subject amongs law makers, teachers, and the public. Many believe it is nothing more than a way for federal government to take control of the education system. Supporters suggest that it will improve education nationwide by implementing uniform standards for all to meet and even surpass. While researching this subject I learned much about the intended purpose, the application, and desired outcome of this program. I also was able to acquire a further understanding of both the supporters’ views and the opposition’s thoughts. As I concluded my research I was then able to form a validated opinion of the common core program. The common core curriculum was designed to focus on a student’s critical thinking skills, problem solving ability, and analytical skills. The method presented to do this was to make a uniform set of guidelines and goals across the boards so that teachers could better measure progress. As of today 44 states out of 50 have adopted these standards and conducted standardized testing to check progress through the year. Kansas adopted the standard October 12, 2010. The program works to better prepare students for the high demands that will be found at the college level, therefore making more successful citizens to sustain our growing communities. The concept of this program was put together by the education commissioners and governors of the nation. They gathered the input of experts, school...
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...1. Clearly define the ethical problem. * Should I the new NCO report the incident with SFC Sharp and SGT Day or should I just ensure the information is destroyed and overlook the situation not to stir up any trouble at my new assignment? 2. Employ applicable laws and regulations. * AR 380-5 * Unit SOP * Past Inspection results from higher inspecting agency * National Communications Security Instruction (NACSI) 4006 (See AR 380–40) * FM-1 3. Reflect on the ethical values and their ramifications. * Loyalty – Remaining loyal to the overall mission of safeguarding the nations security from enemies both foreign and domestic * Duty – Fulfilling my duties as an NCO by remaining professional and ensuring proper attention is brought to this situation * Honor – The men and women that could be in potential danger if classified information got into the wrong hands * Integrity- Not compromising my integrity just to cover up for someone else and a mistake * ...
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...The Common Core State Standards Initiative. Those are the five words that changed the world of learning in today’s era. But what is Common Core and what makes this education curriculum so common? The Common Core State Standards Initiative is an effort to establish a common set of standards for all public schools in all states. For example, “by the end of first grade, all kids should be able to count to X, add, multiply, divide, know fractions and be able to read a chapter book” (BladdyK). Besides education standards, it standardizes things like homework and tests. This adaptation in a new standard is a work-in-progress, thus giving common core a very vague and broad feeling to it. I've heard from numerous college students within my classrooms...
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...education as a state run exclusive right because of historical legacies and funding. In the article “Common Core Education Standards: Why they’re contested left and right;” Amanda Paulson describes the adverse reaction in which politicians and the general public have in regards to current education reform as a whole. The backlash is coming from both sides of the political spectrum. Among Republicans, supporting Common Core (aka “Obamacore”) has become particularly toxic,...
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...Common Core is a very controversial topic in schools and courtrooms today. However, I don’t think it should be since it clearly violates the 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” Therefore, it is the individual right of the reserved governments to chose what curriculums they want and in what manner to enforce them. So far, 42 of 50 states have adopted the initiative of common core in hopes of raising test scores and keeping children on the same system. This has not worked. Instead we are seeing kids who have the same or lower test scores but are more stressed, less happy, and hate...
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...Common Core: A Pathway for Success Philipe Cannada ITT Technical Institute-Duluth Turn on your television, radio, or attend any political event and one of the main topics will most likely be a conversation about whether the Common Core State Standards are good or bad for our students. Every parent, educator, policy maker, researcher and citizens of the United States needs to join the debate of Common Core State Standards for the rights of our future: the children born and unborn of this great country. How can we call our country a world power with 20 or more countries performing better than the United States in mathematics since the early nineties? Why is there even a debate amongst these groups when based on the 2014 PDK/Gallup poll of the public’s attitudes toward the public school revealed that 58% of Americans said the curriculum used in their community’s schools needs to change (pdkintl.org, 2014). The same poll revealed that the public believes only 13% of high school graduates are ready for the world of work, and only 31% ready for college (pdkintl.org, 2014). With all of this why are we all not taking a stand for the Common Core State Standards? The Common Core State Standards for mathematics create a staircase where students can build upon their knowledge conceptually at a pace that will be standardized across the country. Every student regardless of socioeconomic status, demographics, or political background should have the same pathway for their education. For...
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...LGAM we use formative assessments during instruction to help gather feedback in order to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement. This process emphasis on focus and coherence. The Common Core Math Standards require us to incorporate a balanced approach between procedural skill, fluency, and conceptual understanding. As we can see in the 2016-17 CAASPP results, our students are struggling to reason, defend and debate their thinking when solving problems. Only 37% of our students are meeting math standards on the CAASPP. When we compare this results to the benchmark data we see that between 60% to 68% of students are passing. Do to the gap in student achievement between these assessments, the math department will be engaging professional learning around instruction strategies to address the needs of students performing below grade level. As a team, we recognize that effective professional development must be sustained, ongoing, content-focused. Math colaboration will be embedded in professional learning communities where we will be able to strategize on instructional math tools to address the problem of practice we identified. Too often math instruction and assessment are inconsistent from classroom to classroom, by...
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...Common Core: Should the Government Participate in Education Standards? The Common Core Initiative is something that is very important to the growth of youth in the world of education. It provides a standardized education outline in hopes of making the United States a more intellectually competitive nation. Yet, while nearly all states have adopted this Initiative, there is little faith in its influence on the intelligence of the average student. There are many attributes and subtle nuances in the whole of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. This makes it difficult to say whether or not the education system is benefiting from this initiative. While Common Core set out to define when and what children should learn, was the change necessary and/or successful? Ever since people have been attempting to standardize education the question of “What is important?” has been asked. State education standards have been around since the early 1990s. By the early 2000s, every state had developed and adopted its own learning standards that specify what students in grades 3-8 and high school should be able to do. Every state also had its own definition of proficiency, which is the level at which a student is determined to be sufficiently educated at each grade level and upon graduation. This lack of standardization was one reason why states decided to develop the Common Core State Standards in 2009. America’s decreasing intelligence average became a public matter. Many people knew...
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...“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”1 Martin Luther King, Jr. When asked to do this assignment this quote stood out to me the most in requards to the new use of Common Core Standards in the State of Maryland Education System. I was educated during the time of memorizing factors and answering simple questions, which simply prove that I can remember facts. Today my child is being asked to “think intensively and to think critically” in order to compete Globally in the world today and thanks to the Common Core Standards I am glad of his process. To date 46 states and District of Columbia's adoption of Common Core State Standard as well as the 4 states that have not adopted CCSS. Minnesota adopted ELA but not Math standards.2 Common core State Standards (CCSS) was established by a non-profit origination called Achieve, which...
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