In each grade, K-12 students are expected to master a set list of topics. These are known as the academic content standards. This year there was a significant effort to create a uniform and common academic standard by the superintendents of state schools and governor organizations. The effort was named the Common Core State Standards Initiative which will essentially be a national content standard.
This initiative was supported by the Federal government which promised a stimulus funding of $350 to help promote these standards. Any state that wants to be a part of the Federal government’s “Race to the Top” program to compete and fight for a share in the $4 billion will necessarily have to adopt this common standard.
This is an excellent initiative considering the fact that in States like California, the quality of the entire education system essentially depends on the content standards such as teacher training, curriculum, testing and textbooks.
School with low standard of content can really be destructive for the entire system. There will definitely be a positive impact and effect of the national common standards on both the students as well as the economy of the State in the coming years.
The first College Readiness draft was published in the month of September by the Common Core Initiative and surprisingly there was no indication of a high standard here. Maths for example featured problems to be solved that were most simple and non-mathematical. There were also 100 mathematical skills required by students listed in the required content.
Math standards clearly did not measure up to the promise with the skills measuring a division and estimation apt for a fifth grade level. However, answers were possible only with knowledge on aspects such as Chicago’s elevation, surface area of Lake Michigan and the Earth’s population.
The problems bordered on the vague and featured a variety of flaws. They were clearly not suited or reliable enough to gauge the extent of mathematical knowledge of students. If this is the standard that is going to be made common, then all schools in the nation is definitely in trouble soon.
The second promise made by the Initiative namely to set high standards for admissions to a major number of state universities including the University of California and the California State University.
The Common Core standards removed portions from the already existing three year high school level math which includes Geometry and Algebra 1 and 2. There were no problems to be solved in permutations and combinations, logarithms and even geometry of circles which would make children not even eligible for CSU and would make them fit only for remedial classes.
Presently, the State of California is reputed for its high content standards. All governors are full of praise for the quality of education offered here. Good news is that Jack O’Connell, the Police Superintendent and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have put forth a condition that the State of California will accept the Common Core Standards only if it was at par or more than the already existing standard of education in the State.