Common Vision--What are the Pros and Cons of having a Common Core?
In the past, local school districts and state school departments wrote their own standards and curriculum. As a result, both varied widely in quality, rigor, and content.
In the past, local school districts and state school departments wrote their own standards and curriculum. As a result, both varied widely in quality, rigor, and content.
This was problematic for textbook companies and assessment writers who had to tailor their materials to individual states and districts. It was also problematic when comparing students, schools, and districts. Because teachers were teaching toward different standards and students were taking different tests, it was not possible to accurately compare students from one state to students in another. And if a student moved from one state to another, their transcript and test scores were not entirely useful in establishing their achievement and ability in the new context.
Also, as the federal grant program Race to the Top emphasized rigorous college and career readiness standards, many states in the midst of recession had few resources to put toward revising their own standards; so the collaborative Common Core effort sponsored by outside sources seemed like a great alternative.
In this post, I am going to provide a quick overview of the main pros and cons of having common standards across states in general. Then in future posts, I will address the more specific concerns related to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards currently in use, the larger issues of even greater concern than the Common Core itself, and the closer-to-home issues that we as parents and educators can have a real impact on.
PROS OF COMMON STANDARDS:
In this post, I am going to provide a quick overview of the main pros and cons of having common standards across states in general. Then in future posts, I will address the more specific concerns related to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards currently in use, the larger issues of even greater concern than the Common Core itself, and the closer-to-home issues that we as parents and educators can have a real impact on.
PROS OF COMMON STANDARDS:
Define clear pathway to college and career readiness for all students.
Allow for greater consistency between states and common vocabulary for all students and teachers.
Require higher expectations for all students no matter where they are from or what their background.
Potential for higher quality through collaboration with experts.
Potentially save states money on assessments as states pool resources.
Potentially result in higher quality resources and materials targeting the common standards.
CONS OF COMMON STANDARDS:
Less local control over standards and assessments.
Experts and research vary widely about what should or should not be included in the standards.
High standards and rigorous assessments do not lead to equal outcomes without equal resources and instruction.
Widely varying interpretations, appropriations, and implementation reduces “Common” aspect of core.
Some question the necessity of annual rigorous standardized assessments as a tool for measuring student progress and teacher/school effectiveness.
Should the convenience and cost-effectiveness for textbook companies influence decisions about standards, curriculum, and assessments?
EQUAL IS AS EQUAL DOES
In order to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students, it makes sense that having clear, rigorous college and career readiness standards for all students regardless of background is important. In the past, some districts had much more rigorous standards than others, resulting in some students being more prepared for college and the workplace than others. On the other hand, merely establishing more rigorous expectations does not automatically result in equal educational outcomes when there is disparity in resources and instructional quality.
EQUAL IS AS EQUAL DOES
In order to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students, it makes sense that having clear, rigorous college and career readiness standards for all students regardless of background is important. In the past, some districts had much more rigorous standards than others, resulting in some students being more prepared for college and the workplace than others. On the other hand, merely establishing more rigorous expectations does not automatically result in equal educational outcomes when there is disparity in resources and instructional quality.
Furthermore, who gets to decide what is in any set of standards? The Common Core website makes a big deal about the Standards being research-based and the result of a large collaborative effort. However, opponents are quick to point out that few teachers and education scholars were involved in the process and “research-based” is a vague term. Research varies widely in validity and content, and it is easy to find “research” to support a variety of educational approaches. Finally, parents, teachers, politicians, and employers often have differing ideas about what they believe college and career readiness is and others question college and career readiness as the main goal of American education. And even if we agree on any one set of standards, how they will be interpreted and implemented can vary widely from state to state, district to district, school to school, and teacher to teacher. So is it even worth it to have common standards?
COMMON STANDARDS & THEN SOME
Although having a clear, rigorous set of common standards is ideal in theory, it is much more complex in practice. But the question is this: should we abandon the idea of a Common Core simply because it is more difficult to implement than expected? I cannot answer this for everyone, but I can say that as a teacher who taught in four school districts in three states, standards are only one of many resources that I draw on in my teaching. I use standards as a guide for the MINIMUM skills my students need to obtain. Beyond that, I also use curriculum guides, my understanding of pedagogy and recent educational research, my personal educational philosophy, my knowledge of my students’ needs and interests, and my relationship with the school community.
COMMON STANDARDS & THEN SOME
Although having a clear, rigorous set of common standards is ideal in theory, it is much more complex in practice. But the question is this: should we abandon the idea of a Common Core simply because it is more difficult to implement than expected? I cannot answer this for everyone, but I can say that as a teacher who taught in four school districts in three states, standards are only one of many resources that I draw on in my teaching. I use standards as a guide for the MINIMUM skills my students need to obtain. Beyond that, I also use curriculum guides, my understanding of pedagogy and recent educational research, my personal educational philosophy, my knowledge of my students’ needs and interests, and my relationship with the school community.
In the CCSS English Language Arts introduction, the document explains the Common Core focus on “results rather than means”:
“By emphasizing required achievements, the Standards leave room for teachers, curriculum developers, and states to determine how those goals should be reached and what additional topics should be addressed. Thus, the Standards do not mandate such things as a particular writing process or the full range of metacognitive strategies that students may need to monitor and direct their thinking and learning. Teachers are thus free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards.” (p. 4)
As a teacher, I cling to this statement believing that I have the professional freedom to do what is best for my students, and as a parent, I hope that my children’s teachers will do the same. We do need high-quality standards for all students. The Common Core State Standards are not perfect, but I don’t know that any standards or curriculum will ever be perfect. Perhaps instead of fighting against the Common Core, we need to fight for a process to continually improve it. But more importantly, we need to fight for the teachers who will use their professional expertise to implement it, or any other set of standards, effectively.
We need to provide teachers with the best possible standards to work with and teachers need to be trusted as professionals to use those documents along with their professional judgment and expertise to ensure student success.
“By emphasizing required achievements, the Standards leave room for teachers, curriculum developers, and states to determine how those goals should be reached and what additional topics should be addressed. Thus, the Standards do not mandate such things as a particular writing process or the full range of metacognitive strategies that students may need to monitor and direct their thinking and learning. Teachers are thus free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards.” (p. 4)
As a teacher, I cling to this statement believing that I have the professional freedom to do what is best for my students, and as a parent, I hope that my children’s teachers will do the same. We do need high-quality standards for all students. The Common Core State Standards are not perfect, but I don’t know that any standards or curriculum will ever be perfect. Perhaps instead of fighting against the Common Core, we need to fight for a process to continually improve it. But more importantly, we need to fight for the teachers who will use their professional expertise to implement it, or any other set of standards, effectively.
We need to provide teachers with the best possible standards to work with and teachers need to be trusted as professionals to use those documents along with their professional judgment and expertise to ensure student success.
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