Mission Statement
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. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are educational standards? Educational standards help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful by providing clear goals for student learning.
Why do we need educational standards? We need standards to ensure that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in postsecondary education and the workforce. Common standards will help ensure that students are receiving a high quality education consistently, from school to school and state to state. Common standards will provide a greater opportunity to share experiences and best practices within and across states that will improve our ability to best serve the needs of students.
Standards do not tell teachers how to teach, but they do help teachers figure out the knowledge and skills their students should have so that teachers can build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms. Standards also help students and parents by setting clear and realistic goals for success. Standards are a first step – a key building block – in providing our young people with a high-quality education that will prepare them for success in college and work. Of course, standards are not the only thing that is needed for our children’s success, but they provide an accessible roadmap for our teachers, parents, and students.
Why do we need educational standards? We need standards to ensure that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in postsecondary education and the workforce. Common standards will help ensure that students are receiving a high quality education consistently, from school to school and state to state. Common standards will provide a greater opportunity to share experiences and best practices within and across states that will improve our ability to best serve the needs of students.
Standards do not tell teachers how to teach, but they do help teachers figure out the knowledge and skills their students should have so that teachers can build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms. Standards also help students and parents by setting clear and realistic goals for success. Standards are a first step – a key building block – in providing our young people with a high-quality education that will prepare them for success in college and work. Of course, standards are not the only thing that is needed for our children’s success, but they provide an accessible roadmap for our teachers, parents, and students.
What will college- and career-ready graduates be able to do?
Reading
*Understanding more from and making fuller use of written materials, including using a wider range of evidence to support an analysis *Making more connections about how complex ideas interact and develop within a book, essay, or article *Evaluating arguments and specific claims, assess- ing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is sufficient, and as appropriate, detecting inconsisten- cies and ambiguities *Analyzing the meaning of foundational U.S. documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights) Language Determining or clarifying the meaning of words and phrases, choosing flexibly from multiple strategies, such as using context, Greek and Latin roots (e.g., bene as in benefactor or benevolent), patterns of words (conceive, conception, conceivable), and consulting specialized reference materials. Interpreting figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox,) in context and analyzing their role in the written materials. |
Writing
*Making an argument that is logical, well-reasoned, and supported by evidence *Writing a literary analysis, report, or summary that develops a central idea and a coherent focus and is well supported with relevant examples, facts, and details *Conducting several research projects that address different aspects of the same topic, using more complex books, articles, and other sources Speaking and Learning *Responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesizing comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; and resolving contradictions when possible *Sharing research, findings, and evidence clearly and concisely *Making strategic use of digital media (e.g., animation, video, websites, podcasts) to enchance understanding of findings and to add interest |