Common Core Standards in the United States - Book Report/Review Example

 Common Core Standards in the United States Abstract The current paper engages available literature on education Common Core Standards in the United States. It will explore the need and possibility of having these standards. The paper will enquire into ways of implementing these standards effectively and then consider forms of support, materials, and training that will be helpful in implementing Common Core standards. A section on the reactions of different stakeholders on Common Core standards will close the paper. Jaeger (2014) is insightful in painting the need for standards. The article implies a comparison between Common Core standards system and one without standards. The text can be helpful in providing ways in which different stakeholders can collaborate in implementing standards. Ayres (2012) is an exemplary case, which succeeds in placing education planning approach choice in the contexts of different levels, for the potential benefits of standards. The article can help in implementing Common Core standards. Hendrickson et al (2013) is a valuable text in pointing out some of the aspects that can help ratify standards. It is insightful in that it indicates likely pitfalls for standards and can help in overcoming them. The article foregrounds the need to ensure student-centeredness of standards. Finally, Chant (2014) offers helpful information on the reactions of some stakeholders towards the adoption and implementation of standards. The article is valuable in presenting the two opposing stances taken by some stakeholders. It helps highlight the alternatives to which those objecting to the standards are turning. Common Core Standards Case Study: A Review of the Literature Introduction The acknowledgement of the crisis that draws from having disparate standards at state level has prompted the need for national standards. Success of the adoption and implementation of Common Core standards is dependent on how best it does not appear as if it is bringing undue federal government influence on local education systems. A number of things are important in understanding the issues surrounding the Common Core standards, their adoption, and implementation. The need for Common Core standards Jaeger (2014) presents a case for need of Common Core standards, highlighting their unique contribution to students and the education system at large. According to her, Common Core standards represent a long-awaited paradigm shift, and she petitions that the standards should be viewed as influencing the education system to emphasize the importance of generating knowledge through research. The standards will help appraise the need for more nonfictional reading than is currently offered, and will provide students with essential background knowledge into what they study. Above all, the standards will change students into fact-finders who will seek to use evidence in their discourse. Common Core standards provide a deep learning experience that is centered on the student, and are an outcry to teachers and librarians among other stakeholders to see how to benefit the student the most. Ayres (2014) emphasizes that success of an educational approach should be measured by considering its impact on students especially their quality of life. Essentially, combining Common Core standards with ecological curricular frameworks can work best to achieve the most benefits for the student. Pertinent issues in deciding which approach benefits students’ quality of life most is the lack of standard quality of life metrics and a lack of clarity about how to measure how best an approach works especially in light of diverse students’ needs. As universal as they may have been set, Common Core standards should allow for individualization and self-determination. They should allow educators to manipulate them to fit the needs of individual students. It would be helpful to seek to empower students to live independently and incorporate competition in their work like is the norm in the life beyond school. Students with disabilities are singled out here because societal barriers and lack of access to opportunities, equal to those of their counterparts without disability, challenges their lives. Common Core standards have the challenge of ensuring inclusion and supports that creates and avails opportunities for all. Hendrickson et al (2013) picks up Ayres (2014) idea on how an education approach should affect student’s life and presents evidence of how upholding student-centeredness can help concretize this idea. Borrowing from the University of Iowa (UI) REACH (Realizing Educational and Career Hopes) program, education approaches should emphasize inclusivity. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder who pursue the UI REACH program live and study in the company of their non-autistic counterparts. The Common Core standards can borrow from UI REACH program the aspect that it offers students with a chance to pursue their individual academic and nonacademic goals as freely as other students. The UI REACH program enhances the achievement of students’ nonacademic goals by offering advice and providing multiple community engagement opportunities. Partnerships are another integral element that the Common Core standards could borrow from UI REACH because they help pool the inputs of different stakeholders. Partnerships between different stakeholders in education are essential and can help give feedback that Chant (2014) recounts. Common Core was a result of collaboration between chief state school officers, governors, state and local governments, parents and educators. The inputs of all these parties were supposed to help produce a framework that would equip students with knowledge and skills to help them advance their education and life after school. However, after the production of the standards, some parties have fallen out of the endeavor to adopt and implement these standards for various reasons. Some feel they need more time to implement the standards. In conclusion, the above pieces of literature show that the Common Core standards are good. They are based on evidence, can help harmonize education levels, provide access to education, and have a promise of improving on the shortcomings of the present education approaches. Nonetheless, the Common Core standards have a number of challenges, which can determine its success in terms of acceptance by different stakeholders, and delivery of its promises. The standards should be flexible enough to address the individual needs of students. It should encourage inclusivity of diverse students’ needs. There is a need for the standards to foster partnerships and collaborations that can help impact the student best. References Ayres, K. (2012). Reconciling Ecological Educational Planning With Access to the Common Core: Putting the Cart Before the Horse? A Response to Hunt and McDonnell. Research & Practice for Persons With Severe Disabilities, 37(3), 153-156. Chant, I. (2014). Academic: Higher Ed Administrators Weigh in on Common Core. Library Journal, 139(13), 14. Hendrickson, J., Carson, R., Woods-Groves, S., Mendenhall, J. & Scheidecker, B. (2013). UI REACH: A Postsecondary Program Serving Students with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities. Education & Treatment of Children, 36(4), 169-194. Jaeger, P. (2014). Hear Ye, Hear Ye: A Dozen Messages From The New York Common Core Crier. Knowledge Quest, 42(3), 52-57. Read More