Why Common Core State Standards and Why Eureka Rio Rancho Public Schools K - 12

Common Core State Standards How do the CCSS differ from the previous state standards? Up until now, individual states have developed their own standards, which meant that math taught to students in New Mexico were very different from the math taught in other states. The CCSS are the first attempt at national standards. They were created by a coalition of states — not by the federal government. Every state decided whether or not to adopt the new standards. The goal of the CCSS is to create consistent, rigorous expectations for every child, no matter where they live.

Common Core State Standards Why were the CCSS developed? The CCSS were developed in response to growing concern over the quality of the U.S. education system. American students have receive mediocre scores compared to other developed countries in international tests. U.S. ranks 22nd place among developed countries in the number of students who graduate from high school. In 1995 and continuing in 2005, the U.S. dropped from second to 13th among developed countries in the percentage of students who earn a college degree. For those students who make it to college, many do not have the basic skills they need to succeed. Each year, one million students fail college placement tests, and more than one-third of all students enroll in remedial education to learn skills they should have mastered in high school.

Common Core State Standards The future belongs to your child . . . Many jobs today and in the future will require far more advanced skills than in the past. Recent surveys of employers in a range of professions found a general consensus that students are not prepared for the modern workplace. Student workers’ lack of 21st century skills which include critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and communication skills. The Common Core State Standards were designed to address these problems and boost the quality of American education in all U.S. schools by putting emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving, and focusing on mastery of both content and skills

Common Core State Standards Math – The Subject People Hate Comments we all hear . . . I hated math when I was in school! I could never do math! I always had a hard time understanding math!. Math is hard. I’m just not good with numbers!

Common Core State Standards Why is the Math so Different? http://vimeo.com/110807219

Common Core State Standards How will the CCSS change your child’s perception of math? Standards are focused so students spend more time learning the most important content. Standards are presented in a logical progression from PK-12 so students are making connections of math taught at every level. Standards allow students opportunity to be flexible with procedures, develop fluency, and connect math to the real world in ways that build student confidence and help students with true understanding. Standards allow students opportunities to think critically and develop problem solving skills.

Common Core State Standards Rio Rancho’s Math Adoption Process All teachers in K-12 received training in the CCSS prior to adopting materials for teaching the CCSS. An adoption committee, consisting of teachers from every grade and every school went through additional training of the standards prior to evaluating materials from several publishers. The committee’s task was to recommend materials that were in alignment to the CCSS as well as provide students and teachers with support to ensure consistent implementation of the new standards. After the presentations by several publishers and another evaluation process involving ALL teachers, Eureka Math was unanimously recommended to the RRPS Board of Education to be adopted as RRPS’ math curriculum.

Common Core State Standards Why Eureka Math? Comprehensive math curriculum that: focuses on the most important content as determined by the new standards. is presented in a logical progression from PK-12 building on concepts within grades and across grades. connects math to the real world so it makes sense. it allows students opportunities to be flexible with procedures, develop fluency and develop a deep understanding of the content. provides opportunities to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Common Core State Standards First Consumer Reports of Common Core Aligned Materials Because of the common standards across states, we are now able to review curriculum materials to determine if they are aligned to the standards. The results were released on March 4, 2015. Most curriculum programs that were evaluated were found to be “out of sync with the standards.” Eureka Math was the ONLY program that met the expectations for alignment to the CCSS at every grade level reviewed (PK-8). Links: Most Curricula Sound to be Out of Sync with Common Core Math Independent Reviews of Educational Materials

Common Core State Standards Math Programs: How They Rated

Common Core State Standards RRPS Parent Support – K-12 Math Resources www.rrps.net