Common Core is a set of standardized education benchmarks that have been adopted by 43 U.S. states. While some argue Common Core prepares students for college and future careers through critical thinking skills, others believe it is problematic and should be eliminated. Common Core requires significant changes from traditional teaching methods and has been difficult for teachers and parents to implement and understand. It also takes decision-making power away from local authorities and gives it to private organizations. Overall, there is debate around both the advantages and disadvantages of Common Core.

1. Common Core
2
Common Core Comment by Author: this should not be bold
Casey Berry
English / 200
September 5, 2018
Ms. Gaby Maruri
Introduction Comment by Author: this needs to be centered
and not in bold; it needs to be the title of your paper
Comment by Author:
Common core is a standardized education tool that is being used
in almost 43 states of America. It is like an outline that has
various benchmarks which need to be completed at the end of
each grade so that students can successfully learn. It is like
having a check and balance on what the students should learn.
The primary aim is to prepare learners of America for college

2. and make sure that they are acquiring various skills. Although
some people believe that Common Core has been a great model
and useful for education, it is an unnecessary program to have
in schools and needs to be eliminated for several reasons.
Comment by Author: plural needed
However, this practice is disadvantageous for students as well
as teachers because no other material knows better than the
teachers about the needs, wants, and goals of the students.
Teachers can easily teach their students after analyzing their
needs and previous knowledge. Moreover, this tool is
unconstitutional as it has been created by the National
Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the
Council of Chief State Officers with help from the Bill and
Melissa Gates Foundation not the Department of Education.
Comment by Author: choose a different phrase---“outer” is
a bit awkward Comment by Author: Comment by Author:
Comment by Author: rephrase this---“…can know about
the needs, wants, and goals of students better than the
classroom teacher.” Comment by Author: missing comma
Common core unconstitutional Comment by Author: needs to be
centered; titles should not be complete sentences—think of
newspaper titles…they’re fragments
The step to create a tool of education has not been taken by the
Department of Education. Instead, it has been established by the
National Governors Association and Council of Chief State
School Officers with no input from the Department of
Education. It means that they have taken the responsibility of
making crucial decisions regarding policies of education and the
standardized testing system from the authorities of states
(Robins, 2013). Comment by Author: article missing---a
what do you mean by “the step to create a tool of education”??
Did the department of education hire the private company who
created The Common Core?? Comment by Author: of
Comment by Author: the standardized

3. Common Core not embraced by teachers
After this program was introduced, many teachers, who had
been using their styles and methodologies of teaching for many
years, had to adapt their methods and had to bring enormous
changes to their lessons. This tool focuses on limited skills in
Mathematics and English. It is problematic for teachers as they
duty is to teach students all the subjects and skills (Shanahan,
2015). Comment by Author: run-on sentence Comment by
Author: not clear Comment by Author: can you name them?
The benchmarks focused more on the development of critical
thinking and behaviors among students rather than actual
knowledge of different topics. On the other hand, teachers have
to teach the knowledge of different subjects. So when they are
supposed to follow the common core, it limits their teaching.
Comment by Author: can you give some examples??
Comment by Author: combine these two sentences
Comment by Author: this should all be one paragraph with
transition signals instead of three paragraphs.
Not beneficial for students and parents Comment by Author:
needs to be centered; titles should not be complete sentences—
think of newspaper titles…they’re fragments
Since it included many unique activities of English and
Mathematics, many parents had problems understanding them,
so they were not able to help their children in their studies at
home. One of its primary aims was to prepare students for their
future jobs; it included many communicative activities which
helped them acquire different kinds of behaviors. However, it
failed to make them for college as it hardly had any knowledge
or aspect for them. Comment by Author: can you give some
examples of these unique activities?? Comment by Author:
English and Mathematics should be capitalized since they are
proper nouns (they are the names of subjects) Comment by
Author: run-on sentence Comment by Author: can you give

4. examples of these activities? Comment by Author: spelling
error?? Comment by Author: can you give examples of these
behaviors?
Comment by Author: do you have proof? stats?
Comment by Author: can you explain this?? Comment by
Author: this should all be one paragraph with transition signals
instead of two paragraphs.
More support needed.
Comment by Author: more support needed for this
paragraph
Common Core Advantages
States win more Money
It has been experienced that states who follow this scheme take
more benefit than the students or teachers as they compete with
each other in developing more qualified workers, so it is
advantageous for their economies (Lyons 2014). While there are
people who oppose Common Core, there are people who think it
is a system worth keeping and that the remaining states should
implement it as well. Comment by Author: spelling error
Comment by Author: insert comma Comment by Author:
the first sentence for this paragraph needs to introduce the
opposing argument, which should not be an in-text citation.
Missing topic sentence.
Prepares students more efficiently
It was also revealed that students who were taught through
Common Core were highly skillful in many behaviors than the
rest as they practiced different skills through activities and
acquired vast knowledge of situations. These students were
better prepared for college and life after graduating.
Comment by Author: can you give examples? Comment by
Author: can you give examples??
Statewide standards benefit students from other states
Children who continuously move from state to state benefit
more from Common Core standards. With one set of standards
across the nation, new students coming in from another school

5. will already have the knowledge needed and will not have to
worry about taking a remedial class to catch up to the rest of the
students.
Conclusion Comment by Author: this should be one
paragraph
For a lot of people, the common core is a good option, and they
find it a highly successful plan. But its drawbacks must also be
highlighted as it proves to be very problematic for many
students, teachers, and parents because of its unique
methodologies and activities. Comment by Author: combine
into one sentence Comment by Author: insert comma
Comment by Author: insert comma
It is bringing enormous changes into the whole system of
education of America as it suggests all the lesson plans and
knowledge students need to acquire are very much different
from the traditional learning methods, which have been
followed in the country for centuries. Educational institutes are
not finding it very easy to cope with such changes as students
find it difficult to study. Moreover, since it is a new method and
does not hold any historical records, one cannot say with
confidence that the knowledge that it promotes is worthwhile or
not. Comment by Author: into the Comment by Author: not
clear—revise Comment by Author: not clear—revise
traditional WHAT?? Comment by Author: change to 3rd
person Comment by Author: Conclusion needs to be one
paragraph.
Be sure that if you’re summarizing your main points
(claims…body paragraphs 1-3), then you should include
parents—otherwise, you need to restate your thesis statement

6. References
Shanahan, T. (2015). COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS.
Elementary School Journal, 115(4), 464-479.
Robbins, J. (2013). Uncommonly bad. Academic Questions, (1),
8. doi:10.1007/s12129-013-9336-9
Lyons, L. (2014, October 29). Teachers Favor Common Core
Standards, Not the Testing. Gallup Poll News Service.