Sharon P. Robinson: Keep Dialogue Open, Focus on Students (Response to “Common Core Makes Waves”)

From National Journal
By Sharon P. Robinson

Currently, 45 states and the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted the Common Core State Standards. In doing so, these states believe these standards have something to contribute to their current state standards. Those considering the Common Core standards should know that they cover much of the same content as existing state standards and are intended to serve as an enhancement, not as a replacement of each state’s unique approach to education. They seek to prepare students to apply knowledge through higher-order thinking skills, have contextual skills and awareness, develop academic behaviors, learn content knowledge, and develop cognitive strategies that are incrementally developed over the course of the PK-12 education experience. Students are expected to build upon mathematical process, literacy, rhetorical, and analytic skills from year-to-year through a deliberate and continuous learning process. This requires educators to be cognizant of where their students are in the development of their knowledge and skills and where they are headed.