Common Core Standards are a set of academic standards that states across the United States follow. The California Board of Education adopted the standards in August 2010, which means that children in Kindergarten through 12th grade in the state are required to follow the same educational curriculum as children in other states that adhere to the CCS.
Purpose
The standards provide a framework to prepare students in schools in California and elsewhere for college and the workforce. California state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell has said that the standards give a “consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn” and that they make the U.S. more competitive with other countries.
Development and Implementation
The Common Core Standards were developed by California in conjunction with the other states that have adopted them. The federal government had no role in the standards’ development or implementation in California or elsewhere, and individual states choose whether to adopt the standards
English Standards
Regarding reading, the standards require increasing levels of complexity regarding California students’ reading comprehension. The reading standards also say that students have to read a diverse amount of contemporary and classic literature, plus specific texts in a range of subjects.
Regarding writing, students have to be able to write out a logical argument beginning in early grades. The argument has to contain reasoning, evidence and claims that have substance. The full English standards are linked to in the Resources section on this page.
Math Standards
Regarding mathematics, the standards for Kindergarten through fifth grade students in California emphasize a “solid foundation” in basic arithmetic in order to help young students build a solid foundation that will help them when they move up to more complicated forms of math.
Also, middle school students are prepped for high school math under the standards, and high school students are required to “apply mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues.”
