High School Students Enter Common Core Era

Monday not only was the first day of school for 460,000 Arkansas students, but it also was the first day that grades 9-12 began classes under the Common Core State Standards.

Initiated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Common Core features a common set of standards in English language arts and math. Arkansas is one of 45 states that have adopted the Common Core.

Schools began implementing the Common Core in grades K-2 in 2011-12 and then did so in grades 3-8 in 2012-13. Testing will begin in 2014-15.

Standards spell out in general terms what a student is expected to know. For example, one of the standards for literature for grades 9-10 is, “Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.”

The standards were devised so students learn similar material in English and math regardless of where they live. Supporters say common standards in those subjects are needed to compare American students with each other and with foreign competitors. Also, having common standards makes it easier to educate children in a mobile society.

According to Dr. Tracy Tucker, the Arkansas Department of Education’s special advisor, director of curriculum and instruction, the standards are narrower and more focused than Arkansas’ current frameworks. They are more connected grade to grade and better aligned with what will be needed as a student moves into college or a career.

During legislative hearings about the topic in July, Kathy Powers, a fifth and sixth grade teacher at Conway and former Arkansas Teacher of the Year, said, “Common Core encourages students to read like detectives and write like reporters.”

But the transition has not always been easy or without its critics. Because districts have been teaching Common Core in grades K-8 while testing on the old frameworks, student scores on benchmark exams are expected to be lower in some schools. Those results are expected to be released this month. Tests for Common Core are being designed by two groups of states. The one of which Arkansas is a member, PARCC, has seen several states leave, including Georgia, which announced in July that the costs for the PARCC test are too high.

Meanwhile, the state lacks the broadband access needed both for instruction and testing. Two groups are studying needs and potential funding sources: an education-related group known as the Quality Digital Learning Study Committee (QDLSC), and a group of business leaders and internet service providers known as Fast Access for Students, Teachers and Economic Results, or FASTER. A third committee was formed underneath the QDLSC that is studying technical aspects of the transition. The groups plan to present reports in time for legislators to consider solutions during the January 2014 fiscal session.

Dr. Ed Franklin, executive director of the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges and chairman of the QDLSC, said in an interview today that his committee believes that schools need broadband capacity of 400 kilobits per second per student. However, that could change as the committee better understands the issue.