Common+Core+Standards

=**Background:**= = For decades, the United States maintained various academic quality standards among states, resulting in wide disparities in student proficiency as measured under the No Child Left Behind Act and highlighted by National Assessment of Education Progress scores. =

The adoption of the common core state standards by more than 40 states might be the first step toward meaningful and comprehensive comparisons of student performance and achievement among states. Under these new standards, educators across the country will work under the same guidelines for what students need to know and are expected to do.

To learn more about the common core standards, check out the resources below.

=**Common Core Resources:**=
 * [|What Common Core State Standards are — and aren’t] by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post
 * [|Testing the Common Core Standards], also by Valerie Strauss. She has also written [|The problem(s) with the Common Core standards].
 * [|The Common Core: Policy Triumph or Commercial Bonanza?] by Nancy Flanagan at Ed Week.
 * [|Will National Standards Improve Education?] is a useful New York Times forum.
 * [|Common Core Standards: Hardly an Evidence-based Policy] by Larry Cuban.
 * [|National Standards a Wild Goose Chase] by Anthony Cody at Ed Week.
 * David Cohen has a very thoughtful post titled [|Common Core Confusion] . Be sure to read the comments, too.
 * [|Common Core Confusion – ASCD Edition] is by David B. Cohen.

=**More Resources: (PDF's)**= > by Achieve > by New Jersey ASCD > by PARCC > by PARCC > by Thomas B. Fordham Institute > by SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium > by ETS
 *  //On the Road to Implementation: Achieving the Promise of the Common Core State Standards//
 *  //The Common Core Initiative: Dimensions of Implementation// (PDF)
 *  Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)
 *  Overview of the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PPT)
 *  Race to the Top Assessment Proposal Summary (PDF)
 *  //Now What? Imperatives and Options for "Common Core" Implementation and Governance// (PDF)
 *  SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)
 *  A Summary of Core Components (PDF)
 *  SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium flow chart (PDF)