Common Core State Standards

It was discovered that in education there were certain areas that were universal and common among learning. The two main subjects of concern were English language arts and mathematics. Common core is the new curriculum implemented now in school systems to develop learning. Common Core Standards are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for the knowledge and skills students need in English language arts and mathematics at each grade level so they can be prepared to succeed in college, career, and life. Although, Common Core seems to be here to stay this article addresses concerns in reference to content, instruction, and assessment. The questions raised were: 1). Is the content of Common Core State standards appropriate for young children?

3). Will the Common Core State Standards lead to the inappropriate use of assessments for young children? The questions posed directed the writers toward comparing Common Core State Standard with Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in order to see how the two practices aligned with one another with the intent of answering each question that was introduced.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice is using knowledge about child development to create a program that is suitable for the age and stage of development for that group of children. At the same time, DAP program considers the needs of the individual child. Although, DAP may be more customized to each student, Common Core gears more towards intended child learning outcomes. One gap between DAP and Common Core is that Developmentally Appropriate Practice applies more to kindergarteners and years prior but there are no standards present beyond kindergarten. Therefore, language supporting DAP would be important in kindergarten and it was discovered that perhaps in first through second grade also. This leads to the first question of whether or not Common Core Standards were appropriate for young children. The use of Common Core and its focus on only two

Educators worried that Common Core assessment in the classroom would take away from instructional time for students. Teachers also wondered if in early education, children would be tested like older children through pencil/paper or computer-driven assessment. Another point brought out by teachers was if results of Common Core assessment would be used for high-stakes including accountability systems for teachers and programs. Lastly, there was the question of whether or not decisions about students, mainly retention in grade, may be based solely on the results of Common Core assessments. To answer these questions, Common Core researchers reminded teachers that assessment is an ongoing process and in order to improve teaching and learning, teachers must continually engage in assessment for the purpose of improving teaching and learning. With that being said, Common core developers have outlined the approach to assessing. To avoid layering on top of other assessments already being used, teachers and administrators will need to examine their assessment approaches so that testing continues to add to, rather than take away from teaching young children. To direct teachers in this approach, they would need to become familiar with the guidelines provided in the Common Core Standards. Next, in reference to assessment results being used for high-stakes such as grade retention, Common Core