California teachers are on the verge of implementing the new Common Core State Standards for students in public education. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative (www.corestandards.org) is the latest development in a long history of standards-based reform in the United States. Local teacher’s response to this mandate is lukewarm.
In 2009, the nation’s governors and the Council of Chief State Officers (www.ccsso.org) initiated the Common Core State Standards Initiative. The goal was to develop college and career readiness standards that could be universally implemented in the classrooms of America’s youth. These standards were developed with the idea that student learning would dramatically improve, enabling teachers to more effectively close the achievement gaps.
It is believed that these new improvements in education will lead students to higher quality education and would ultimately benefit students when entering college and the workforce.
In President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address he praised these efforts to “raise standards for teaching and learning.” Teachers are still unsure of how this change will affect their classrooms and instruction.
Currently, local school districts are providing staff development opportunities so that teachers are prepared for these changes. In these trainings, teachers question how these standards would be implemented and how students’ progress will be measured. Others perceived this change as a positive step in educational reform.
As a result, there seems to be mixed feelings by teachers regarding these new mandates and how they will affect the classroom.
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