By Kelly Stewart

Have you noticed that what elementary students are learning these days is more advanced than what you and I may have studied in grade school, let alone high school?

While we focused on the 3 R’s (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic), today students’ education must focus on the 4 C’s (critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, and communication) to meet the demand of 21st century learning.  Moreover, you may have heard how the Governors and State Superintendents of Education from across the U.S. have banned together to establish common standards.  Their intent was to ensure that all students are prepared with 21st century learning skills, thus keeping our country competitive in the global economy.  This effort resulted in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which have been adopted by forty-five states and the District of Columbia.

The Common Core State Standards or CCSS consist of high quality academic standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. These standards were created in an effort to provide students with the skills necessary to succeed in college and work, which referred to as being “college and career ready.”

Historically individual states have set their own standards for learning leading to a disparity of learning standards across the states.  Expectations for student learning in the United States varied according to zip codes.  However, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ensure that consistent expectations for students from state to state exist, while providing clear guideposts for students, parents, and teachers.
In this article my brief overview describes how the English-language arts (reading, writing, grammar, listening, and speaking), or ELA standards, will be different from past standards.  Some of the changes in English-language arts include:

* A greater emphasis on non-fiction textReading and writing grounded in evidence from the text

* Greater text complexity

* Focus on Argumentative writing

* Shared responsibility for the teaching of reading and writing across the curriculum.

*According to David Coleman, one of the authors of the CCSS standards, “students should be able to read like a detective and write like an investigative reporter if they are proficient in Common Core standards.”   Thus, curriculum and teaching may look different in the coming years as teachers strive to assist their students in developing these skills.

* Moreover, parents will begin to see changes in their child’s education as a result of CCSS
implementation.  For example, in addition to teachers assigning fiction books written at a more challenging reading level, they will also expect students to practice their skills at home by reading an increased amount of non-fiction books.  Furthermore, students may be given writing assignments in subjects other than English such as social studies, science, or art.  Also, students will be asked to support their writing with evidence from the textbook.

For additional information, the National PTA has created The Parents’ Guide to Student Success, which is a grade level guide that serves as a resource for parents to increase their knowledge regarding the CCSS standards in English-language arts and mathematics.  To view these resources, visit http://www.pta.org/4446.htm.

I am very excited about the nationwide implementation of the Common Core State Standards.  For once, our nation is in agreement over what skills are needed for our students to be college and career ready.  More importantly, the standards focus on the development of skills that require our students to think, reflect, analyze, influence, evaluate, and communicate.  In other words, their education will strive to make them thinkers and problem solvers for life.  These skills will not only enable our children to be successful in the 21st century, but it will enable our great country to remain a leader in the global economy.