It’s time to aim higher

Across the U.S., a Common Core of Standards is under development that may help address the marked variability across states.  Interestingly, the executive summary of Fordham Foundation’s Stars By Which to Navigate interim report (Oct 2009) indicated:

“Subject-matter experts reviewed the content, rigor, and clarity of the first public drafts of the “Common Core” standards released in September 2009 by the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) of the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers. Using the same criteria, the same experts also reviewed the reading/writing and mathematics frameworks of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP); the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS); and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Letter grades were awarded to each. The goal is to help U.S. educators and policymakers to judge the respective merits of these influential standards, de facto standards, and possible future standards.

In particular, how do the draft Common Core standards stack up alongside extant national and international benchmarks?

Here are the grades:
Common Core Reading/Writing/Speaking/Listening: B
Common Core Mathematics:  B
NAEP Reading:  B and NAEP Writing: B
NAEP Mathematics:  C
TIMSS Mathematics:  A
PISA Mathematics: D
PISA Reading: D” (p. 1)

As you may recall that PA Math Standards are weak and fall below the NAEP Math Standards (poorly rated here).  As Steve pointed out, SCASD’s fluency expectations are already two years behind CA & MA. Perhaps we should be pushing the SCASD to be truly visionary and aim to meet the top-rated TIMMS standards. Can you imagine what a powerhouse district we would have and how much better prepared our kids would be for their future schooling and employment? That’s certainly not going to happen with our kids receiving instruction using Investigations in the elementary grades.