Preparing Eudora students with
Kansas College and Career Ready Standards
Kansas College and Career
Ready Standards are...
• The statewide Kansas adoption of Common Core
State Standards.
• Benchmarks and guidelines for what skills each
student should learn each year. In Eudora, we use
these as a base to create our own lesson plans,
curriculum and assessments.
• Focused on rigorous content and real-world
application of knowledge, rather than rote
memorization of facts.
• Based on a natural progression of skills and
knowledge that students should learn as they
move through school.
Kansas College and Career Ready Standards
are not a national curriculum or created by
the federal government.
In fact, Common Core Standards are being
implemented across the country as the result of a stateled movement of state leaders and teachers. The Kansas
Board of Education adopted them as the Kansas
College and Career Ready Standards in October 2010.
To date, 45 other states, the District of Columbia, and
other U.S. territories have adopted the Common Core
State Standards.
Common questions
What are educational standards and why do we need them?
Kansas has had educational standards for decades. They provide clear goals for student learning
in different subject areas and help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge
they need to be successful. Common standards, which are shared among many states, will help
ensure that students receive a high quality education, from school to school and state to state.
Why are Common Core State Standards important?
They are a common sense first step toward ensuring all American children are getting the best
possible education, no matter where they live. Consistent, high standards across states provide
teachers, parents, and students with a set of clear expectations. This will help maintain America’s
competitive edge so that all students gain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in
whatever path they choose.
Will the new standards force Eudora teachers what or how to teach?
No. Standards are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will
help our students succeed. Over the past year, Eudora teachers and leaders have already begun
work to decide how the standards are to be met within our classes and district curriculum, and
this process will continue for the next several years.
Do the new standards “dumb down” what students will learn?
No. Common Core standards are designed so that all students, regardless of where they live,
learn what they need to know to graduate from high school ready for college or a career. In fact,
they have been built from the best and highest state standards in the country. They are evidencebased, aligned with college and work expectations, include rigorous content and skills, and are
informed by other top performing countries. They were developed in consultation with teachers
and parents from across the country, so they are also realistic and practical for the classroom.
Will more standards mean more tests?
No. The goal is not to have more tests, but to have smarter and better tests that help students,
parents, and teachers ensure that students at each level are learning the higher-level thinking
skills necessary for success.
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Ready for school, ready for college/career, and ready for life!
Highlights of the new English
Language Arts Standards:
• Students develop skills in reading and writing with
research, media, and technology, in all subject areas
• Reading skills are emphasized in all subject areas
• Students read and learn from classic and contemporary
literature, as well as informational texts
• Students focus on several types of writing: opinion
pieces, informative writings, narrative texts, and
research projects
Highlights of the new
Mathematics Standards:
• Students develop a deep understanding of how to work
with numbers
• Students understand how to use mathematical thinking
in the real world
• Mathematical practices help students develop
perseverance and critical thinking skills
• More hands-on learning in algebra, geometry,
probability and statistics
College and Career Readiness
When students leave Eudora Schools, they should be ready for
whatever comes next: college or career and life as a young adult.
Without question, English Language Arts and Mathematics standards are a very
important piece of a student’s preparation for college and career. But in Eudora
Schools, we work hard to provide a wide range of learning experiences:
• Career and technical education
• Art and music
• Physical education and health
• Technology
• Activities that support and enhance a student’s school experience, such as
athletics and clubs
Preparing “ready” students begins years before high school graduation. In
Eudora Schools, students are taught the social and emotional skills that are
fundamental to all other learning and growth beginning in the earliest grades,
and continuing through high school. Strategies to manage emotions, resolve
conflict, communicate with respect, control impulses and make positive
choices, ultimately translate to learning in the classroom and success in life.
Want to know more? Go online!
There are useful resources available online to help you learn about how Common Core / Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards will affect
your student, and how you can support student learning at home. Here are a couple great places to get started:
• Kansas College and Career Standards website, provided by the Kansas State Department of Education: http://bit.ly/1gbz9cn
• National PTA guides for parents outline the key concepts that students should be learning in each grade in English Language Arts and
Mathematics, methods for building relationships with teachers, and tips for planning for college and career:
http://bit.ly/19nCkfV
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