Swun Math describes one of the biggest new controversies in education - the Common Core Math curriculum. As parents, you’ve probably heard about how Common Core is difficult, unwieldy, and worst of all, poorly designed and confusing to parents, students and teachers alike.

1. Debunking
Common Core
Some Background Information & More

2. One of the biggest new controversies in education is the
Common Core Math curriculum. As parents, you’ve
probably heard about how Common Core is difficult,
unwieldy, and worst of all, poorly designed and confusing
to parents, students and teachers alike.

3. But the truth is far more complicated, and can’t
be reduced to a simple soundbite. Let’s take a
look at the history and reasoning behind
Common Core...

4. Believe it or not, Common
Core was not a federal
effort, but a state one.
In 2007, then-Arizona
Governor Janet Napolitano,
in her role as the chair of the
National Governor’s
Association, created an
initiative focusing on
innovation in America.
How was
Common Core
created?

5. When they realized that innovation was impossible
without excellent education, Napolitano established a
task force to achieve a difficult goal: improve student
achievement, and in the process, catch up to math
powerhouses like Singapore and South Korea.

6. Thus Common Core was born. But it was certainly not an
easy birth, nor an exclusive one: the task force
encompassed nearly a hundred experts with backgrounds
in education, child development and psychology, and
design.

7. First, the Common Core is not a
curriculum: instead, it is a set of
education standards, or
guidelines and goals that set out
what students need to be able to
do within a certain time period.
These standards take a new
approach to mathematics
education, with key differences
being a greater emphasis on
visual and hands-on learning, and
more rigorous problems that
help students build a stronger
math base.
What’s new?

8. Of all the subjects, math is perhaps the most visual, hands-on, and
arguably engaging one. The issue, however, is that math was not always
taught that way. Common Core promotes a more interactive method,
using digital or paper number lines, ten frames, or even Lego blocks.
Visual, Interactive Problem
Solving

9. Take a look at this comparison of math problems pre- and post-Common
Core: you’ll see that Common Core math problems are written in a clear,
straightforward way, with little ambiguity and confusion. Notice that each
of the Common Core problems require a knowledge of equations, multiple
calculations, and most importantly, a deep understanding of foundational
math.
Better Worded, Deeper Problems

10. In a nutshell: poor execution.
Why is Common Core so
Confusing?

11. As we said before, Common Core is a set of guidelines, not a
fleshed-out curriculum with textbooks, worksheets, and
lesson materials. Instead, the actual curriculum documents
are purchased by states and even individual counties and
school districts, which means wildly different source
material, a lack of support from publishers, and overall
confusion.

12. It’s gotten to the point
where even Jason
Zimba, a college
professor and one of
the original designers
of Common Core math,
has expressed his
frustration at the
lackluster curriculum
at his children’s
school.

13. The key then, is not when or what you learn, but how. Towards
that end, at Swun Math, we’ve dedicated ourselves to building
lessons that are easily understood, logical, and interactive.
Take a look at some of our offerings today.

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