Common Core State Standards

Florida is among 48 states participating in the crafting of core education standards. This is touted as a state-led effort, trying to avoid the stigmatism of the federal government imposing standards on the states. The first product of the Common Core State Standards Initiative is called the “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science” along with the “Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.”

Keep in mind that these are not science education standards. Rather these are standards outlining what kind of Language Arts skills students should master to succeed in various academic subjects, one of them being science. Also, these are “standards”, not “curriculum”:

This initiative is about developing a set of standards that are common across states. The curriculum that follows will continue to be a local responsibility (or state-led, where appropriate). The curriculum could become more consistent from state to state based on the commonality of the standards; however, there are multiple ways to teach these standards, and therefore, there will be multiple approaches that could help students accomplish the goals set out in the standards.

To see what literacy standards apply to science take a look at this pdf. The first several pages address various literacy skills for grades K-5 without really breaking the skills down into specific subjects like social studies and science. For grades 6-12, though, pages 53-60 provide specific benchmarks for reading and writing skills needed for social studies and science classes.

Be sure to also check out the proposed mathematics standards. Skills needed to succeed in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) tracks are in there.

These documents are currently in draft form and the Common Core State Standards Initiative wants public input. You can provide your comments here.

The Lakeland Ledger has a story online (from the New York Times) about the Common Standards, and the author couldn’t help but throw in a gratuitous mention of evolution.

Because the standards cover only English and math, their writers did not include proposals related to evolution, a cause of controversy in some states, or to any other specific science concepts.

My guess is that the author didn’t quite understand what the current draft documents are all about: general literacy and mathematics skills, not science skills. However, common science standards may be in the works down the road:

Why are the common core state standards for just English language arts and math? Are there plans to develop common standards in other areas in the future?

English-language arts and math were the first subjects chosen for the common core state standards because these two subjects are skills, upon which students build skill sets in other subject areas. They are also the subjects most frequently assessed for accountability purposes. Of course, other subject areas are critical to young people’s education and their success in college and careers. Once the English-language arts and math standards are developed, CCSSO and NGA Center, on behalf of the states, plan to develop a common core of standards in science and potentially additional subject areas.