Name of Common Core successor: Next Generation Learning Standards

On Board Online • May 29, 2017

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

The new name unveiled this month for the latest reboot of New York's math and English language arts standards might have a familiar ring for some Star Trek fans. The new standards will be known as the "Next Generation Learning Standards," echoing the subtitle of an updated version of the sci-fi series that ran in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A public comment period on the latest revisions is scheduled to continue through June 2, and the Regents are expected to act on a final version at their June 12-13 meeting.

Once the standards are formally adopted, professional development can begin and teachers can start implementing the changes in their classrooms. But Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said there is no schedule yet for completing the transition and aligning student assessments with the Next Generation standards.

Elia said she remains determined not to rush the process and to remain flexible about the pace of the transition. "We will have a plan for a rollout as we go, but it could change," she said.

The new standards, which would replace the Common Core standards now in place, are the product of a process that began in the fall of 2015 with a public survey that drew hundreds of thousands of "feedback" items from the public. The process also included months of in-person meetings and online collaboration by New York educators and stakeholders last year. A public comment period last fall drew more than 4,100 comments that informed the latest revisions.

The revised standards are posted on the State Education Department's website at www.nysed.gov/aimhighny . Comments can be made on the site.