While the Common Core may be controversial in the education world, it is good news for kid lit writers. Since the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) list things kids should know and be able to do at each grade level, they help authors align their books with what kids are learning, and they also enable authors to have valuable discussions with teachers who use their books. In order to accomplish these professional endeavors, it is important for authors to understand how the CCSS came into being, how to read the standards, and how to posit books within the Common Core context.
Because education policy is set at the state level, states began to develop their own standards for addressing academic achievement. And, in 2002, George W. Bush signed "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) into law. The goal of NCLB was to raise the level of education for all American children, and it required districts to test students every year in 3rd-8th grade on reading and math and to report their progress.
Since every state had its own standards and tests to measure student achievement, there were obvious difficulties in comparing the data across the country. So, in 2009-2010, a council of state governors and state heads of education worked to develop internationally bench-marked standards that they hoped would be adopted and used by every state. The main reasons the CCSS were developed was to prepare students for college and jobs no matter where they lived in the United States, and that the students would be internationally competitive. At the time of this post, forty-five states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia have not).
http://academicbenchmarks.com/common-core-state-adoption-map/. |
- Reading for Literature (RL)
- Reading for Informational Text (RI)
- Reading for Foundational Skills (RF)
- Writing (W)
- Speaking and Listening (SL)
- Language (L)
By Pamela Brunskill
Sources:
Graham, Edward. "'A Nation at Risk' Turns 30: Where Did It Take Us? - NEA Today." NEA Today. N.p., 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
Meador, Derrick. "An In-Depth Look at the Common Core." About Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
"A Nation At Risk." Archived:. N.p., Apr. 1983. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html>.
Nelson, Libby. "What Is the Common Core?" Vox. N.p., 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
Scherer, Melissa. "A NATION AT RISK: THE IMPERATIVE FOR EDUCATIONAL REFORM, 1983." N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <https://www3.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/nationrs.html>.