Week 2, Task 2; Common Core and ELA

Standards have evolved over time. Due to disparities and weaknesses in the system, there have been many reforms in the standards set for core subjects. Since the standards were not good, there were disparities between student achievements as well. Early standards set by states were too broad, it led to an unteachable curriculum. Also, there was the problem of “a mile wide and an inch deep”. Since the states had such different standards, if a child moved from one state to another, he or she found that they were unable to keep up. Thus, it became apparent that there needed to be one set of standards for all states. The new ELA Common Core standards are broken into four categories, reading, writing, speaking & listening, and language. Each of these have anchor standards that specify what the student is learning to prepare them for college and readiness. It gives teachers a goal and something to work to. Then come the content standards which are more specific. In reading, students have to learn how to read informational texts. In writing, students need to learn to write based on a text that they have read and support their argument with evidence from the text. In speaking and listening, students are expected to collaborate, express ideas clearly, and adapt speech to a variety of contexts. In language, students need to know vocabulary, knowledge of language, and standards of English language. States can add some content to the standards as well. Implementing Common Core may be hard and challenging, but it’s imperative.