Common Core State Standards Essay

The United States relies on Common Core State Standards to guide students to excel in an era of global competition. However, do the Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, allow students to compete against top performing countries such as Canada? In a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Program for International Student Assessment, the United States performs sub-par in comparison to the global standards. As a former superpower in education, the United States should be able to compete with the European Union, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Canada. As these countries widen the disparity of instructional quality, key differences must be explored, especially in the mathematics and literature, to revise Common Core State Standards. A noble attempt to create equality between

Canada does not have a central administration for education, allowing each province to do as it sees fit for education (Fullan). The Canadian System gives the provinces, such as Ontario, the flexibility they need to perform well, especially in Ontario. The Ontarian system has some unique traits that have yielded excellent results. The most significant difference is that the standards set by the province of Ontario are mandated by its state (Fullan). This holds teachers accountable for the material they teach. Another part of the Ontarian system is teacher transparency, which permit administrators to view teachers’ progress and create collaborative networks for struggling teachers (Fullan). The Ontarian system significantly increases performances in the core areas of reading, writing and mathematics. Scores have increased by fifteen percent in Ontario, and the United States would do well to simulate the Ontarian system. However, if the United States were to adopt this system, the whole nation would need to be committed long term