10 years later and there is still a fair amount of controversy around Common Core, which 40 states have adopted as their educational standards. The purpose of Common Core was to elevate education in the US to better prepare students for college and beyond and increase the ranking of US amongst other nations. Surprisingly the US consistently ranked average or below average in math and science globally.

The Common Core came on the heels of the No Child Left Behind Act and was the answer to elevated education in the US. The concept for Common Core is to introduce critical thinking skills into the classroom. Students are collaborating and solving problems with creative solutions, and the teacher the facilitator. A form of New Learning is being introduced into K-12 and it’s exciting. But has it been effective?

There are several schools of thought, one being that such a large undertaking of transforming the education system would take ample time, more than 5-10 years. As I do a deep dive into this topic it seems that are several issues with the implementation and curriculum consistency.

Wealthier districts in the suburbs of Chicago received coaching, mentoring and ongoing support so the teachers were fully indoctrinated with the new standards and could effectively teach it to their students. Low-income districts in Chicago found themselves foraging for their own resources and with little or no support. Teachers, administrators, and parents were confused by the content. I remember right before COVID hit, my daughter was in third grade and her teacher asked the parents to not help their kids with the math homework.

I believe in the concept of Common Core; it teaches skills that are crucial once students graduate and prepares them for real world scenarios. Where I think it fell flat was on the implementation. The standards should have been developed state-wide and compared to a national level. Each state/school should have received ample support and training. And lastly perhaps an annual evaluation that doesn’t require computerized testing. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-debate-over-common-core/

Crawford, J. (2014). Jan Robinson: The Debate over Common Core [Video]. CBS Sunday Morning. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-debate-over-common-core/

Susie An/Adriana Cardona-Maguigad,  (December 3, 2019), Common Core: Higher Expectations, Flat Results https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/12/03/784224482/common-core-higher-expectations-flat-results

Morgan S. Polikofirst, (February 1 2017) Is Common Core “Working”? And Where Does Common Core Research Go From Here https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858417691749