Common Core Standards Update

Today at ASCD's LEAP Legislative Institute, Gene Wilhoit, executive director of CCSSO and leader of the Common Core Standards Initiative, spoke with ASCD members about the Initiative's work to develop K-12 reading and math standards. He emphasized that the standards will be internationally benchmarked and backed by evidence that shows student mastery of them leads to preparedness for higher education and the workforce.

Wilhoit's other key points:

• Fewer, clearer, higher. According to Wilhoit, the standards will be useful to classroom teachers and accessible to students, parents, and the general public. They also will prepare students for life after K-12, which he said means focusing on key learnings, concepts, and cognitive skills instead of introducing more content.
• Content + cognitive. In addition to outlining key content that students must understand, the standards will incorporate an emphasis on cognitive skills so that students are able to apply what they learn and creatively problem solve.
• Assessment. Wilhoit referenced the U.S. Department of Education's $350 million collaborative grant that, next June, will go to states that decide to take on the work of designing assessments aligned with the common core standards. Wilhoit raised questions about how many states would have the capacity to do this work, whether the states would design one or more assessments, and which vendors the states would choose to support the work. Wilhoit also expressed an interest in turning the current assessment system upside down by beginning with local assessments that could feed into state accountability systems.

Wilhoit said the Initiative's target release date for the draft English and math college- and career-readiness standards is later this week. They'll be posted on www.corestandards.org, and there will likely be a 30-day public comment period. The reading and math K-12 standards should be issued by the end of the year.

In the meantime, ASCD formed a committee in March to help recommend an organizational position on national standards. The group's report is expected in the spring, if not earlier.

What do you think about common standards? As an educator, what will it take for the standards to be useful for you, which Wilhoit indicated is a key goal?