During our faculty meeting this week we focused on how the
new Common Core standards concentrate on developing skills which will help
students become successful in the real world. The new criteria is prompting educators and administrators across the
nation to take a closer look at the level of transition skills students acquire to help them become successful
contributors in our society.
In the past, transitions were covered primarily in the
upper high school grades. However, data
has shown that transition skills must be emphasized and taught as early as
Kindergarten. Although the transition
from a high school senior to the real world is a crucial switch, other fundamental
transitions are happening for students at the elementary level between 5th
and 6th grade, as well as the 8th to 9th grade
transition.
Students are now expected to successfully
compete in a global economy. Our
students must be better prepared for the social, emotional, academic, and
intellectual transitions that will happen throughout their lives. According to the CCSS, "the standards
are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the
knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and
careers."
In addition, the way in which students
are being assessed will shift as a result of the Common Core standards. Moving forward, children will be evaluated based
on performance assessment. For example,
the Common Core standards performance assessment seeks to measure skills that go
beyond asking students fill-in-the-space questions. Instead, students are being
evaluated over an entire process that could take up to two classroom days to
complete. I believe these types of
assessments are a terrific way to examine a student’s performance on activities
such as experiments, essays, computer programming, etc. Each of these activities more accurately reflects
an individual’s basic skills as they apply to real world situations.
Take a minute to read the Common Core Mission Statement:
“The Common Core State Standards provide
a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so
teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are
designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge
and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With
American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best
positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.”
For more information on CCSS click here.
Best,
Ms. Vince
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