NYSED Makes New Common Core Learning Standards

Common Core Learning Standards are a set of new benchmarks created by the New York State Education Department to push students academically. The goal of these new standards are to provide students with a more solid education. There are Common Core Learning Standards in English and Math. An example of one of these Common Core Learning Standards was posted on the NYSED website saying, “In English, when drawing evidence from literary and informational texts, students will demonstrate their comprehension skill in relation to specific standards”. Students will also need to use appropriate evidence to support claims and counterclaims. In Mathematics, students must delve more deeply in fewer and more specific topics rather than covering a large curriculum but not understanding it fully. Educators have long felt that education in math was “a mile wide and an inch deep”, according to NYSED.

Most teachers in BSGE were indifferent with the change, since most believed the shift to CCLS didn’t change anything in our school. Mr. Mehan, a math teacher, commented, “Most of the IB curriculum is already in line with it, but the thing is I don’t know how thought out they were with it. The IB curriculum tends to already cover it, especially in math in which it already does what Common Core requires.” He states that BSGE’s IB curriculum covers what Common Core Standards ask for, and for the students here, they will not feel the shift to CCLS. However, he feels that it would strengthen the math skills in students outside BSGE.

Ms. Kumar, an English teacher, agrees with Mr. Mehan. She says, “The students may have to adjust in terms of testing, but not so much in the classroom.” As an English teacher, she feels that “there is a heavy emphasis on non-fiction text.” Students will also need to use appropriate evidence to support claims and counterclaims. CCLS preserves uniformity in the curriculum throughout states in this nation. She says, “The CCLS is the government’s way of making sure that the curriculum is the same in every state.”