National Common Core Standards
Impact of the National Common Core Standards Movement
The Common Core Standards Initiative refers to a framework set up in order to streamline the education sector across the United States of America. Having been launched in 2009, the Common Core Standards Initiative has the main goal of enhancing the quality of education offered across schools in the United States in order to conform to the standards evident in world’s top performing nations. This initiative has had numerous impacts not only from a national perspective but also at the school and district levels.
These impacts can be examined and/or evaluated in terms of assessment, instruction and curriculum more so with regard to the instructional program’s alignment. In terms of assessment, the Common Core Standards initiative has had both beneficial and undesirable implications upon the district. Firstly, the initiative facilitates for an effective framework for tracking the students’ academic performance from the elementary levels up to advanced levels.
Consequently, it is possible for the teachers to understand the weaknesses of students and hence develop the necessary intervention mechanisms. Furthermore, this initiative has made it possible to evaluate the progress made by students in terms of academic performance over a certain period. Upon examining the progress, the district is in a better position to establish comprehensive support systems in order to enhance the quality of education offered in schools. (Chaucer, 2012)
Secondly, the Common Core Standards initiative has also facilitated for the alignment of the district’s assessment mechanisms with other systems across the country. This is an impact attributed by the adoption of the Common Core Standards initiative in forty eight states throughout the country. With this type of alignment, the district has managed to avert the various loopholes that characterize the assessment procedures such as bias and unnecessary delays. (Kendell, 2011)From the perspective of curriculum, the district has been affected in that the content should conform to the specific standards set at the federal level. In instances of transfers, students would therefore settle quickly in other districts as a result of the streamlined standards.
Even though the district has made some amendments with regard to instructional material, the Common Core Standards initiative has strongly influenced the instructional methods across the various schools in the district. (Tweed, 2007)
Benefits and Shortcomings of the Common Core Standards Initiative
Benefits
This initiative facilitates for the systematic monitoring of the academic development of students throughout the K-12. Consequently, it is possible to address the students’ weaknesses while also maximizing on their strengths. (Kendell, 2011)This initiative is also beneficial in that it focuses extensively on the core subjects such as science, language and mathematics. These subjects are the mainstay of a strong education system and as such, the initiative will strongly promote education standards offered to students across the nation.
As briefly mentioned earlier, the Common Core Standards Initiative serves as an excellent platform for ensuring that students can easily transfer across different schools throughout the country. This is because the Common Core Standards program has already been adopted in all but two of the states across the nation. (Kendell, 2011)
This initiative has also brought about a multidisciplinary approach towards evaluating the academic performance of students. As such, assessment is not merely focused on what the student can recall rather it enhances the evaluation of knowledge gained. (Tweed, 2007)
Shortcomings
It is evidently clear that this initiative is characterized by too many standards; consequently, this has strongly compromised the quality of education offered to students. (Chaucer, 2012)Furthermore, as a result of such a high number of standards, it is quite challenging for the teachers and other education facilitators to understand the initiative in its entirety. The Common Core Standards program has also seemingly created a void with regard to curriculum; this is brought about by the decreasing influence of textbooks upon the K-12 curriculum. Even though the federal government has allocated a lot of money towards the initiative, the implementation phase of the Common Core Standards is still characterized by substantial shortage of resources across the country. (Kendell, 2011)
Introducing the Initiative to Teachers
In order to introduce the initiative to teachers, it is vitally important to develop an effective plan that will deliver the expected results. Firstly, there is the dire need to organize interactive forums such as seminars and workshops specifically aimed at enlightening teachers about the Common Core Standards. During such forums, education experts would examine all the major issues pertaining to the initiative; teachers would also have the opportunity to inquire about their role in implementing the national initiative. (Tweed, 2007)
In addition to the interactive forums, each teacher would be issued with full guidelines as pertains to the integration of the Common Core Standards initiative within the school programs. In order to make the process successful, there are several critical issues and/or aspects of consideration; these include the allocation of sufficient resources, continuous monitoring and mitigation of undesirable impacts. All these aspects would strongly contribute towards the successful implementation of the initiative. (Chaucer, 2012)
References
Chaucer, H. (2012). A creative approach to the Common Core Standards,Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Kendell, J. S. (2011). Understanding Common Core State Standards, Denver:McREL
Tweed, A. (2007). Aligning curriculum, instruction and assessment to standards,Program Improvement Workshop
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