REAL LEARNING FOR REAL LIFE:
Understanding the Common Core
State Standards
Doug Sovde, Director Content and Instructional Supports
IN DEPTH
The U.S. economy and our education system
are directly linked
U.S. workers lack the education
and skills needed to compete
successfully in the global economy.
• 53% of business leaders reported
difficulties in recruiting employees with
the needed skills, technical training
and education.
• The U.S. now ranks 12th out of 36 OECD countries in the
number of 25–34-year-olds with a college degree.
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• By 2018 there will be 3 million fewer college graduates
than will be required by the labor market.
Why the CCSS?
Preparation
The standards are college and career ready. They will help
prepare students with the knowledge and skills they need to
succeed in education and training after high school.
Competition
The standards are internationally benchmarked. Common
standards will help ensure our students are globally competitive.
Equity
Expectations are consistent for all — and not dependent on a
student’s zip code.
Clarity
The standards are focused, coherent and clear. Clearer
standards help students (and parents and teachers) understand
what is expected of them.
Collaboration
The standards create a foundation to work collaboratively
across states and districts, pooling resources and expertise, to
create curricular tools, professional development, common
assessments and other materials.
IN DEPTH
What Are Standards?
• The Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
specify what students should know and be able
to do in each grade and by the end of high
school.
• States, districts, schools and teachers choose
curriculum materials and determine how to get
students to meet standards.
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There is no national curriculum and there
never will be.
46 States and DC Have Adopted the CCSS
*Minnesota adopted the CCSS in ELA/literacy only.
Common Core State Standards and
Common Assessments In Depth
Key Instructional Shifts in the CCSS
ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS
Top-Performing Countries Versus the U.S.
Grade
Topic
Typical U.S. State
Whole Number: Meaning
Whole Number: Operations
Measurement Units
Topics
Common Fractions
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6
G7
G8
Whole Number Meaning
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Whole Number Operations
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Measurement Units
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Common Fractions
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Measurement: Perimeter, Area & Volume
Equations & Formulas
l
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Rounding & Significant Figures
Data Representation & Analysis
l
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Estimating Computations
2-D Geometry: Basics
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Whole Numbers: Properties of Operations
Polygons & Circles
l
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Perimeter, Area & Volume
l
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Rounding & Significant Figures
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Estimating Computations
l
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Properties of Whole Number Operations
l
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Estimating Quantity & Size
l
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Proportionality Problems
Decimal Fractions
l
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2-D Geometry: Coordinate Geometry
Relationship of Common & Decimal Fractions
l
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Geometry: Transformations
Properties of Common & Decimal Fractions
l
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Percentages
Equations & Formulas
Data Representation & Analysis
2-D Geometry: Basics
1
2
3
4
5
n
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2-D Geometry: Polygons & Circles
Estimating Quantity & Size
Decimal Fractions
Relation of Common & Decimal Fractions
Properties of Common & Decimal Fractions
Percentages
Proportionality Concepts
Negative Numbers, Integers, & Their Properties
Number Theory
Exponents, Roots & Radicals
Proportionality Concepts
l
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Proportionality Problems
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Measurement: Estimation & Errors
2-D Coordinate Geometry
l
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Constructions Using Straightedge & Compass
Geometry: Transformations
l
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l
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3-D Geometry
Negative Numbers, Integers & Their Properties
l
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l
l
l
l
l
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Geometry: Congruence & Similarity
Number Theory
l
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l
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l
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Rational Numbers & Their Properties
Exponents, Roots & Radicals
l
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Exponents & Orders of Magnitude
l
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Measurement Estimation & Errors
l
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Constructions w/ Straightedge & Compass
l
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Intended
by four
Structuring
& Abstracting
3-D Geometry
l
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Uncertainty & Probability
Congruence & Similarity
l
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l
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l Intended
Complex
Numbers & Their
Properties
by all
but one
Rational Numbers & Their Properties
l
l
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Infinite Processes
Patterns, Relations & Functions
l
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Slope & Trigonometry
l
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Exponents & Orders of Magnitude
Patterns, Relations & Functions
Proportionality: Slope & Trigonometry
6
7
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8
9
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Real Numbers, Their Subsets & Properties
Validation & Justification
Change
n Intended
Vectors
Systematic Counting
of the six top-achieving counties
of the top-achieving countries (five of six)
by all of the top-achieving countries
n
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s
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IN DEPTH
Top-Performing Countries Versus the CCSS (Math)
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IN DEPTH
The Common Core State Standards Cover the Most
Critical College-, Career- and Life-Ready Skills
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Skills Strongly/Largely Reflected in the CCSS
• Communications skills (e.g., speaking, listening, messaging)
• Teamwork/group work skills (e.g., collaboration, goal setting)
• Problem solving skills (e.g., analyzing information, evaluating
solutions)
• Reasoning skills (e.g., critical thinking, forming arguments,
using logic)
• The application/extension of core content in various
situations (e.g., modeling)
• Use of data (e.g., evaluation, understanding structure,
interpretation)
• Research skills (e.g., gathering and analyzing information
and sources)
• Time management skills (e.g., setting goals, prioritizing
tasks)
• Use of technology (e.g., email, internet research)
Standards Comparisons
Standards (2004)
CCSS
ELA/Literacy
Grade 7: Produce written work
and oral work that demonstrate
comprehension of informational
materials.
ELA/Literacy
Grade 7: Determine two or more central
ideas in a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text;
provide an objective summary of the text.
Mathematics
Grade 8: Understand and
apply the Pythagorean
Theorem.
Mathematics
Grade 8: Explain a proof of the
Pythagorean Theorem and its converse;
apply the Pythagorean Theorem to
determine unknown side lengths in right
triangles in real-world and mathematical
problems in two and three dimensions;
apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the
distance between two points in a coordinate
system.
IN DEPTH
Standards in Action
Mathematics
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IN DEPTH
Standards in Action
ELA/Literacy: Grade 3 Research Simulation
• Two of the sample items measure student understanding of
an excerpt from a book titled Eliza's Cherry Trees: Japan's
Gift to America.
• The Prose Constructed Response (PCR) item also measures
student understanding of “The Peanut Man,” an article about
George Washington Carver.
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IN DEPTH
Grade 3, Item #1—Part A
The article includes these details about Eliza's life:
She wrote newspaper articles to tell others about what she saw in
Alaska to inform those who had not been there. (paragraph 1)
She wrote the first guidebook about Alaska. (paragraph 1)
She was the first woman to work at the National Geographic Society,
where she wrote many articles and books. (paragraph 11)
a)
b)
c)
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d)
What do these details help show about Eliza?
They show that she shared the benefits of her experiences with
others.*
They show she had many important jobs during her lifetime, but
becoming a photographer was one of her proudest moments.
They show that her earlier travels were more exciting than the
work she did later in her life.
They show that she had a careful plan for everything she did in
her life.
IN DEPTH
Grade 3, Item #1—Part B
• Ideas from paragraphs 1 and 11 were used to help you
learn about Eliza. Click on two other paragraphs that
include additional support for the answer in Part A. There
are more than two paragraphs that include additional
support, but you need to only choose two.
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IN DEPTH
Grade 3, Item #2—Part A
Which statement best describes how the events in paragraphs
13 through 15 are related to each other?
a)
b)
c)
d)
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They explain how Washington, D.C., would change if cherry
trees were planted around the city.
They show that Eliza found a new way to get cherry trees
planted in Washington, D.C.*
They compare the ways Eliza and Mrs. Taft tried to add
beauty to Washington, D.C.
They describe how Mr. Takamine gave Eliza the idea to
bring cherry trees to Washington, D.C.
IN DEPTH
Grade 3, Item #2—Part B
Which sentence from the article best supports the answer in
Part A?
a)
b)
c)
d)
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“When they bloomed, the trees became clouds of pink
blossoms.”
“She kept trying for more than twenty years!”
“She wrote a letter to the president’s wife, Mrs. Taft.”*
With the help of Mr. Takamine, a generous Japanese
scientist, they had the trees sent from Japan.
IN DEPTH
Grade 3, Item #3
You have read two texts about famous people in American
history who solved a problem by working to make a
change.
Write an article for your school newspaper describing how Eliza
and Carver faced challenges to change something in America.
• In your article, be sure to describe in detail why some
solutions they tried worked and others did not work.
• Tell how the challenges each one faced were the same
and how they were different.
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IN DEPTH
Questions?
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REAL LEARNING FOR REAL LIFE:
Understanding the Common Core
State Standards
Doug Sovde, Director Content and Instructional Supports
dsovde@achieve.org
www.achieve.org