There is a lot of misinformation flying around about Common Core State Standards. Below is a roundup of recent articles, opinion pieces and posts by policy advisors, debunking Common Core myths and highlighting voices in the transition to these new standards. You'll also find quotes from teachers weighing in on Common Core and see how state and business leaders are supporting the higher standards.

 

Opinion: Truth. As in, you can’t handl

e it.

 The EdFly Blog By: Mary Laura Bragg January 25, 2013 

I’m growing weary of the constant circulation –

 willfully or ignorantly

 –

 of inaccurate information

about Common Core State Standards. And I’m not just talking about the swirling from those in

education circles who are either misinformed or uninformed as to the impact the standards will

have on classic literature. As a conservative, I’m already tired of the more recent swirl from those

in political circles who wrongly assign credit of the development of these standards to big, bad Washington. (Continue Reading) 

Common-Core Rollout in Big Cities Probed in New Report

 Education Week By: Erik Robelen January 25, 2013 Many large urban districts expect to fully implement the Common Core State Standards by the

 

2014-15 school year, according to a new report that offers a closer look at how the standards are playing out in major urban centers. Districts also report that elementary students are being exposed sooner to the new standards for English/language arts and mathematics than those at the middle and high school level. (Continue Reading) 

Opinion: Extremism in Defense of Mediocrity is Quite a Vice

 

Jay P. Greene’s Bog

 Matthew Ladner  January 31, 2013 So Michelle Malkin recently wrote columns of  an alarmed tone warning of the dangers of the Common Core. Here is a taste: 

Under President Obama, these top-down mal-formers

—

 empowered by Washington education bureaucrats and backed by misguided liberal philanthropists led by billionaire Bill Gates

—

 are now  presiding over a radical makeover of you

r children’s school curriculum. It’s being done in the name of federal “Common Core” standards that do anything but set the achievement bar high.

(Continue Reading) 

Interpretations Differ on Common Core's Nonfiction Rule

 Education Week By: Catherine Gewertz January 30, 2013  As the common core is brought to life in classrooms this year, some English/language arts teachers are finding themselves caught in a swirl of debate about whether the new standards require them to cut back on prized pieces of the literary canon to make room for nonfiction. (Continue Reading) 

What English classes should look like in Common Core era

 Washington Post By: Carol Jago

 

January 10, 2013 The claim that the Common Core State Standards have abolished the teaching of literature makes

for a great headline. Who wouldn’t get hot and bothered over the idea that high school students will no longer be reading “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Crucible,” and

 

“Invisible Man?” I would be up in

arms, too. Fortunately, nothing in the standards supports this claim. (Continue Reading) 

Common Assessments Hold Promise, Face Challenges, Study Finds

 Education Week By: Catherine Gewertz January 16, 2013 Tests now being designed for the common standards are likely to gauge deeper levels of learning and have a major impact on classroom instruction, according to a study of the common assessments released today. (Continue Reading) 

What Teachers are Saying about Common Core…

 

“I am excited about having the same standards state

-to-

state.” 

 Maria M., Florida High School Science Teacher  

“I think the rigor of CCSS and the streamlined categories/expectations are awesome.” 

 Erin S., Florida Third Grade Teacher  

GE and Business Leaders Supporting Common Core:

 

College and Career State