Governors release draft for K-12 core standards

By Gracie Bonds Staples

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The first public draft of the standards for K-12 education was released Wednesday by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The standards, which define the knowledge and skills students should obtain during their school years, are intended to provide a consistent framework to prepare them for college and the workforce.

“Common education standards and assessments aligned to those standards are in the best interest of both Georgia and the nation,” Gov. Sonny Perdue, co-chairman of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, said in a news release. “They will allow for an authentic, credible scoreboard that tells us how we are doing compared to students in other states.”

According to the governors association, the standards:

• are aligned with college and work expectations;

• are clear, understandable and consistent;

• include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;

• build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;

• are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society;

• are evidence- and research-based.

Because states operate with different standards, officials said it is virtually impossible to accurately compare data nationally and internationally.

Perdue is among nearly 50 state leaders and commissioners who have committed to helping develop standards that promise to give parents, teachers and students a clear picture of what is expected.

The standards also will allow for textbooks, digital media and curricula to be aligned with international benchmarks.

States may choose to include additional standards beyond the common core as long as the common core represents at least 85 percent of the state’s standards in English-language arts and mathematics.

For more information, go to www.corestandards.org.