Regents complete adoption of common core standards

On Board Online • January 24, 2011

By Brian M. Butry
Communications Coordinator 

After adding additional math requirements for kindergartners and first graders, as well as pre-kindergarten learning standards, the state Board of Regents has put the finishing touches on its adoption of national common core standards developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. 

At their January meeting, the Regents approved the new common core learning standards for English language arts (ELA) and literacy, mathematics and pre-kindergarten. The board previously adopted the national common core standards in July with the understanding that additional state specific K-12 expectations and pre-k standards would be added.

The new English standards call for students to, among other things, read and comprehend classic myths and stories from around the world, foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and the writings of Shakespeare.

The math standards require K-5 students to master whole numbers through addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals as a foundation for more demanding math concepts and procedures in later grades. Middle school students are expected to learn geometry, algebra, probability and statistics, and high school standards call on students to “practice applying mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges.”

Implementation of the new state standards will begin in all schools in 2011-12, according to the State Education Department (SED). Reports of state assessment results for 2011-12 will be broken down, or mapped, to reflect both the existing state standards and the new standards that include the common core.

In the 2012-13 school year, SED officials said classroom instruction is expected to be fully aligned and assessments will test to the state’s common core learning standards for ELA and literacy and mathematics.

The Regents pledged to adopt the common core standards in its application for federal Race to the Top funding. Only 10 states – Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Washington – have yet to implement common core standards.

“New York’s common core is the foundation upon which we are building the statewide curriculum and assessments essential to the Regents goal of college and career readiness for every one of our students,” said Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch.

The standards also had to include rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher-order skills and build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards.

After approval in July, two SED workgroups reviewed the common core state standards and made recommendations for additional expectations. The department then spent the fall gathering input from the field. Over 800 teachers, parents, school administrators, and other stakeholders responded to the ELA and mathematics surveys.

SED officials then added the new state requirements for mathematics, ELA and pre-K prior to the January vote by the Regents. The changes were:

•  ELA standards were amended to include a section on responding to literature by employing knowledge of literary language to read and comprehend, and interpret literary texts from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of American and world cultures.
•  Math standards were updated to ensure kindergarten students develop understanding of ordinal numbers (first through tenth) to describe the relative position and magnitude of whole numbers, and students in first grade are able to recognize and identify coins, their names, and their value.
•  Pre-K learning standards were developed and include five domains: approaches to learning; physical development and health; social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; and cognition and knowledge of the world. 

“This work has been shared by a great many of our stakeholders and will involve countless more of them as we continue to create the future of public education in New York State,” said state Education Commissioner David Steiner.

The next step will be the development of curriculum models so the standards can be in place by next fall.

In December, SED posted a “request for information” (RFI) to gather input from stakeholders on the necessary components to include in the ELA and mathematics curriculum models. After the RFI closes on Jan. 31, SED will use the information to develop a request for proposals to create units called curriculum resource centers to develop model curriculums.