Some important facts about CCSS.

1. COMMON CORE
COMMON CORE
STATES
STATES
STANDARDS
STANDARDS
COMMON CORE STATESCOMMON CORE STATES
STANDARDSSTANDARDS
MARIANNE MCFADDENMARIANNE MCFADDEN
EDG 580EDG 580
JUNE 2013JUNE 2013

2. Mission Statement for CCSSMission Statement for CCSS
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
The Common Core State Standards 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
 they are designed to be robust and relevant to the real
world
 they reflect the knowledge and skills that our young
people need for success in college and careers.
► With American students fully prepared for the future,
our communities will be best positioned to compete
successfully in the global economy.

3. Who, What, Why???Who, What, Why???
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
 The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
(NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school
administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.
 The NGA Center and CCSSO received initial feedback on the draft standards from national organizations representing, but not limited to,
teachers, postsecondary educators (including community colleges), civil rights groups, English language learners, and students with disabilities.
Following the initial round of feedback, the draft standards were opened for public comment, receiving nearly 10,000 responses.
 The standards are informed by the highest, most effective models from states across the country and countries around the world, and provide
teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn. Consistent standards will provide appropriate
benchmarks for all students, regardless of where they live.
 These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school
able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs. The standards:
◦ Are aligned with college and work expectations;
◦ Are clear, understandable and consistent;
◦ Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;
◦ Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;
◦ Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and
◦ Are evidence-based.

4. Who, What, Why???Who, What, Why???
(Tienken, 2010)(Tienken, 2010)
 America’s children are still behind their peers
in other countries “in terms of academic
achievement and preparedness to succeed.”
 State education bureaucrats and many
professional education associations jumped
directly to How will we implement these standards?
rather than first asking Why should we implement
them? Education professionals responsible for
promoting the social, emotional, and academic
growth of children should ask why as part of the
vetting process for any initiative aimed at children.

5. NEED FOR CHANGESNEED FOR CHANGES
(Rothman, 2012) nationwide, about 40 % of entering college students required to take
at least one remedial course before enrolling in credit-bearing coursework, and the rates
are much higher for students of color; remedial students are more likely than those
who do not to drop out of college before earning a degree, and discrepancies among
states’ scores and expectations have raised concerns that some states’ standards set
expectations below what students need to succeed in college and careers.
 (Schmidt & Burroughs, 2013) students are exposed to widely varying content not only
across states and school districts but within schools; inequities in content coverage deny
students equal learning opportunities. By MS and HS, students fortunate enough to have
been challenged with rigorous, focused, and coherent content in the early grades are placed
into courses that continue to challenge them, while peers who were not exposed to such
content are tracked into lower-level courses; differences in learning opportunities
contributing to the achievement gap only continue to grow.
typical US student does not receive the content coverage needed to compete with students
in other nations

6. GOALS…GOALS…
(Conley, 2011)
make it a top priority to ensure that the new standards and assessments are used to
focus instruction on developing key cognitive strategies and skills that students need
for college and careers.
creating national consistency in expectations will lead to better uses of student
learning data, higher-quality curriculum materials, teacher-preparation programs
aligned with key content standards, and research results that identify what works.
CLASSROOMSCLASSROOMS: (Tienken, 2012)
teachers need to dissect the standards at your grade level:
Identify the specific learning objectives embedded in each standard. There are
multiple objectives in each standard not identified by the vendors of the CCSS.
Determine which of those objectives that your current students, the ones that sit in
front of you, will have difficulty learning.
Scaffold additional concrete, hands-on activities into your local curriculum to provide
your students with the extra support necessary.
Create authentic, interesting activities, based on socially conscious problems of
interest to your students to enhance their engagement.

7. GOALS (CONTINUED)GOALS (CONTINUED)
You might be asked to (Rust, 2012):
 Attend meetings to discuss your school or district's CCSS implementation process.
 List the appropriate CCSS on your lesson and/or unit plans.
 Align your course and/or lessons with CCSS in ELA and math, where appropriate.
 Assist ELA and math teachers at your school to help deliver some of the CCSS
components.
 Inform parents of the correlation between what students learn in your class and the
CCSS requirements
(Schmidt & Burroughs, 2013) The CCSS-M resemble the standards of high achieving
countries

8. ADOPTION IN THE USADOPTION IN THE US
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
PA adopted the CCSS on July 2, 2010,
and full implementation will begin in
the 2013-14 school year.
Forty-five states, the District of
Columbia, four territories, and the
Department of Defense Education
Activity have adopted the CCSS.
States that have not adopted CCSS
yet: Texas, Virginia, Minnesota,
Nebraska, and Alaska.

9. STANDARDSSTANDARDS define what students should understand and be able to do.define what students should understand and be able to do.
CLUSTERSCLUSTERS summarize groups of related standards. Note that standards from different clusterssummarize groups of related standards. Note that standards from different clusters
may sometimes be closely related, because mathematics is a connected subject.may sometimes be closely related, because mathematics is a connected subject.
DOMAINSDOMAINS are larger groups of related standards. Standards from different domains mayare larger groups of related standards. Standards from different domains may
sometimes be closely related. (corestandards.org)sometimes be closely related. (corestandards.org)
HOWTO READTHE GRADE LEVELHOWTO READTHE GRADE LEVEL
STANDARDSSTANDARDS

10. KEY POINTS – READINGKEY POINTS – READING
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
The standards establish a “staircase” of increasing complexity in what students must be
able to read so that all students are ready for the demands of college- and career-level
reading no later than the end of high school. The standards also require the progressive
development of reading comprehension so that students advancing through the grades
are able to gain more from whatever they read.
Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as
challenging informational texts in a range of subjects, students are expected to build
knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspective. Because the
standards are building blocks for successful classrooms, but recognize that teachers,
school districts and states need to decide on appropriate curriculum, they intentionally
do not offer a reading list. Instead, they offer numerous sample texts to help teachers
prepare for the school year and allow parents and students to know what to expect at
the beginning of the year.
The standards mandate certain critical types of content for all students, including classic
myths and stories from around the world, foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of
American literature, and the writings of Shakespeare. The standards appropriately defer
the many remaining decisions about what and how to teach to states, districts, and
schools

11. KEY POINTS – WRITINGKEY POINTS – WRITING
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
 The ability to write logical arguments based on substantive
claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence is a
cornerstone of the writing standards, with opinion writing—a
basic form of argument—extending down into the earliest
grades.
 Research—both short, focused projects (such as those
commonly required in the workplace) and longer term in
depth research —is emphasized throughout the standards but
most prominently in the writing strand since a written analysis
and presentation of findings is so often critical.
 Annotated samples of student writing accompany the
standards and help establish adequate performance levels in
writing arguments, informational/explanatory texts, and
narratives in the various grades.

12. Key Points – SPEAKING &Key Points – SPEAKING &
LISTENINGLISTENING
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
•The standards require that students gain, evaluate, and present increasingly complex
information, ideas, and evidence through listening and speaking as well as through media.
•An important focus of the speaking and listening standards is academic discussion in one-
on-one, small-group, and whole-class settings. Formal presentations are one important
way such talk occurs, but so is the more informal discussion that takes place as students
collaborate to answer questions, build understanding, and solve problems.

13. Key Points – LANGUAGE;Key Points – LANGUAGE;
MEDIA & TECHNOLOGYMEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
LANGUAGELANGUAGE
The standards expect that students will grow their vocabularies through a mix of
conversations, direct instruction, and reading. The standards will help students
determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of words, and steadily expand their
repertoire of words and phrases.
The standards help prepare students for real life experience at college and in 21st
century careers. The standards recognize that students must be able to use formal
English in their writing and speaking but that they must also be able to make informed,
skillful choices among the many ways to express themselves through language.
Vocabulary and conventions are treated in their own strand not because skills in these
areas should be handled in isolation but because their use extends across reading,
writing, speaking, and listening.
LANGUAGELANGUAGE
The standards expect that students will grow their vocabularies through a mix of
conversations, direct instruction, and reading. The standards will help students
determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of words, and steadily expand their
repertoire of words and phrases.
The standards help prepare students for real life experience at college and in 21st
century careers. The standards recognize that students must be able to use formal
English in their writing and speaking but that they must also be able to make informed,
skillful choices among the many ways to express themselves through language.
Vocabulary and conventions are treated in their own strand not because skills in these
areas should be handled in isolation but because their use extends across reading,
writing, speaking, and listening.
MEDIA & TECHNOLOGYMEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
Just as media and technology are integrated in school and life in the twenty-first
century, skills related to media use (both critical analysis and production of media) are
integrated throughout the standards.
MEDIA & TECHNOLOGYMEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
Just as media and technology are integrated in school and life in the twenty-first
century, skills related to media use (both critical analysis and production of media) are
integrated throughout the standards.

14. Key Points – MATH (K-5)Key Points – MATH (K-5)
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
The K-5 standards provide students with a solid foundation in whole numbers, addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals—which help young students build
the foundation to successfully apply more demanding math concepts and procedures,
and move into applications.
In kindergarten, the standards follow successful international models and
recommendations from the National Research Council’s Early Math Panel report, by
focusing kindergarten work on the number core: learning how numbers correspond to
quantities, and learning how to put numbers together and take them apart (the
beginnings of addition and subtraction).
The K-5 standards build on the best state standards to provide detailed guidance to
teachers on how to navigate their way through knotty topics such as fractions, negative
numbers, and geometry, and do so by maintaining a continuous progression from grade
to grade.
The standards stress not only procedural skill but also conceptual understanding, to
make sure students are learning and absorbing the critical information they need to
succeed at higher levels - rather than the current practices by which many students
learn enough to get by on the next test, but forget it shortly thereafter, only to review
again the following year.

15. KEY POINTS –KEY POINTS –
MATH (MIDDLE SCHOOL)MATH (MIDDLE SCHOOL)
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
Having built a strong foundation K-5, students can do hands on learning in
geometry, algebra and probability and statistics. Students who have completed
7th grade and mastered the content and skills through the 7th grade will be
well-prepared for algebra in grade 8.
The middle school standards are robust and provide a coherent and rich
preparation for high school mathematics.

16. KEY POINTS – MATHKEY POINTS – MATH (HIGH SCHOOL)(HIGH SCHOOL)
(corestandards.org)(corestandards.org)
The high school standards call on students to practice applying mathematical ways of
thinking to real world issues and challenges; they prepare students to think and reason
mathematically.
The high school standards set a rigorous definition of college and career readiness, by helping
students develop a depth of understanding and ability to apply mathematics to novel
situations, as college students and employees regularly do.
The high school standards emphasize mathematical modeling, the use of mathematics and
statistics to analyze empirical situations, understand them better, and improve decisions.
For example, the draft standards state: “Modeling links classroom mathematics and
statistics to everyday life, work, and decision-making. It is the process of choosing and
using appropriate mathematics and statistics to analyze empirical situations, to
understand them better, and to improve decisions. Quantities and their relationships in
physical, economic, public policy, social and everyday situations can be modeled using
mathematical and statistical methods. When making mathematical models, technology is
valuable for varying assumptions, exploring consequences, and comparing predictions
with data.”
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute#g/u

17. COMPARING CCSS TOCOMPARING CCSS TO
PREVIOUS STATE STANDARDS…PREVIOUS STATE STANDARDS…
The Common Core State Standards were written by building on the best and highest
state standards in existence in the U.S., examining the expectations of other high
performing countries around the world, and careful study of the research and
literature available on what students need to know and be able to do to be successful
in college and careers. No state in the country was asked to lower their expectations
for their students in adopting the Common Core. The standards are evidence-based,
aligned with college and work expectations, include rigorous content and skills, and
are informed by other top performing countries. They were developed in
consultation with teachers and parents from across the country so they are also
realistic and practical for the classroom.
AND:
States that adopted the Common Core State Standards are currently collaborating to
develop common assessments that will be aligned to the standards and replace
existing end of year state assessments. These assessments will be available in the
2014-2015 school year

18. UNITED PURPOSEUNITED PURPOSE
(DICKEY, 2013)(DICKEY, 2013)
The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
(CCSSM) are an evolutionary step that builds on the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
1989 and 2000 standards. Adoption of the CCSSM by so
many states provides coherent and rigorous expectations
for the nation and also affords the possibility of creating
the high-quality tests needed to measure those standards
CCSSM for the middle grades build on a
foundation from earlier grades, informed by current
research on learning progressions in key concept areas
of math
grades 6–8 students and their teachers can benefit from lessons that blend
skill development with essential understandings of concepts in ways that
address the practices inherent to mathematics

19. UNITED PURPOSE…UNITED PURPOSE…
CONTINUEDCONTINUED
(DICKEY, 2013)(DICKEY, 2013)
addressing geometry, statistics, proportional reasoning,
and other subjects and concepts throughout the middle
grades with carefully designed learning trajectories
from elementary school through the middle grades and
into high school creates a mathematical curriculum
consistent with that of high-performing nations and
better serving the development of students’ mathematical
knowledge.

20. CRITICS’ VIEW…CRITICS’ VIEW…
(Dickey, 2013) Critics from across the philosophical and political spectrum express
concerns and doubts about the standards; the accountability system developing
around them; and the implications for students, teachers, and the entire education
enterprise.
top-down education policy system imposed by leaders with no experience in
education has the potential of undermining public education and assessing
education and teacher quality solely or too narrowly on test results.
(Yatvin, 2013)
language arts standards of the CC in too many places are simply too difficult and/or
irrelevant for elementary grade students.
some standards call on young children to behave like high school seniors, making fine
distinctions between words or literary devices, carrying on multiple processes
simultaneously, and expressing their understandings in precise academic language.
some expect them to have a strong literary background after only two or three years
of schooling.
some are blind to the diversity in American classrooms that they require children of
different abilities, backgrounds, and native languages to manipulate linguistic forms and
concepts before they have full control of their own home language

21. CRITICS’ VIEW….CRITICS’ VIEW….
(CONTINUED)(CONTINUED)
(Sawchuk, 2012) English/language arts standards demand a focus on the "close
reading“ of texts, a literary-analysis skill that has been mainly reserved for college
English classes. And they call for expansion of nonfiction materials into even the
earliest grades.
(Loveless, 2012) Publishers of instructional materials are lining up to declare the
alignment of their materials with the Common Core standards using the most
superficial of definitions. The Common Core standards will only have a chance of
raising student achievement if they are implemented with high-quality materials, but
there is currently no basis to measure the quality of materials.

22. STEPS FOR SUCCESS WITH CCSSSTEPS FOR SUCCESS WITH CCSS
(EILERS & D’AMICO, 2012)(EILERS & D’AMICO, 2012)
School leaders are challenged to consider the following elements as they embark on this
new initiative. These six essential elements are selected from those identified by experts
on school leadership and the ones we believe are the most critical to successful
implementation of the CCSS Initiative.
These elements are
(a)establishing a purpose,
(b)setting priorities,
(c) aligning personnel with curricular needs,
(d) practicing professional discourse,
(e) encouraging risk taking,
(f ) and providing feedback.
These elements are the framework for actions that will enable school leaders to
transform schools into learning communities where students are prepared for success in
college and chosen careers. Only skilled and principled leaders will facilitate the necessary
changes in school personnel and climate required to establish more rigorous and robust
schools. School leaders who embrace these elements will be better equipped to move
their colleagues from current beliefs and practices to new and uncharted territory.

23. REFERENCESREFERENCES
Conley, D. T. (2011). Building on the common core. Educational
Leadership, 68(6), 16-20.
Dickey, E. (2013, January). Common core state standards for
mathematics: dream come true or nightmare to come?.
Middle School Journal, 56-57.
Eilers, L. H., & D'Amico, M. (2012). Essential leadership elements in
implementing common core state
standards. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 78(4), 46-50.
Loveless, T. (2012). The common core initiative: what are the chances of
success?. Educational Leadership, 70(4), 60-63.
NGA, CCSSO release common core standards. (2010). Education USA
(LRP Publications), 6(12), 1-5.
Retrieved June 26, 2013 from http://corestandards.org
Rothman, R. (2012). A common core of readiness. Educational
Leadership, 69(7), 10-15.
Rust, T. (2012). Common core standards. Technology & Engineering
Teacher, 72(3), 32-36.

24. REFERENCESREFERENCES (CONTINUED)(CONTINUED)
Sawchuk, S. (2012). Many teachers not ready for the common core.
Education Digest, 78(2), 16-22.
Schmidt, W. H., & Burroughs, N. A. (2012). How the common core boosts
quality & equality. Educational Leadership, 70(4), 54-58.
Schmidt, W. H., & BURROUGHS, N. A. (2013). Springing to life. American
Educator, 37(1), 2-9.
Tienken, C. H. (2010). Common core state standards: I wonder?. Kappa
Delta Pi Record, 47(1), 14-17.
Tienken, C. H. (2012). The common core state standards: the emperor is
still looking for his clothes. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 48(4), 152-
155.doi:10.1080/00228958.2012.733928
Yatvin, J. (2013). Warning: the common core standards may be harmful to
children. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(6), 42-44.