how to research common core within your state/district? (school, grade, scores)

[mommy2be1053]

Maybe it should go to my state forum since it's state/district specific, but i figure with common core standards is being brought in many state's schools.

I have few questions:

how does one really research on the function/success (or lack thereof) of common core within your district online? my state started it during acadamic year of '13-'14, and am aware it's still being tweaked or delayed, etc. i'd like to research and educate myself as opposed to hearing lots of rumors or personal hearsays of it from parents across the country, not that i'm discounting those but i'm aware every parent/child is different.

are the majority of parents really happy with common core? if so, why and if not, why not?

in theory, the common core sounds great so what's the real issue from schools that is having a lot of trouble with it? is it lack of funding? not enough time to prepare the educators, children and districts for CC? what?

and is it all completely tied in with merit standards from teachers/school? ie having to pass certain percentage/grade level to get more funding? or is it teacher to teacher merit system?

anything else you can share with links would be super helpful! as i'm in the very early stage of researching on common core, since my son just turned 3 and am exploring different options for enrollment in the following fall.

[toobusytoday]

I would start here: Home | Common Core State Standards Initiative

You can also do a google search with the key words, "Common Core Standards, My School District, State Name"

[grilba]

I am very happy with the math portion of the common core standards. My children have a very deep understanding of the material. Of course there is a great deal of study involved, which I like as well.

[citylove101]

If the district only started teaching to CC standards in '13-'14 I doubt there will be much online info. You can look up and compare standardized test scores in individual schools or districts if they are available, but it may be too early for that. And likely what you'll find, if they are published, is that testing scores have fallen since the last year. That's been the experience in NY and Kentucky, as I suspect it will be in all but the highest-performing schools. (To me, it's like getting a new piece of software at work. Productivity goes down to start with and then turns up as people get used to using it.)

I'd also look into the local newspapers online for the town to see what info I could find. Are parents there upset or not? Any interviews with teachers or administrators in the district about CC? Many community papers are now online and you might get a good sense of how the CC standards are playing out in local schools from them. (The NYT story I posted in another thread about a nine-year-old Brooklyn boy's experience with CC standards is as good a read as I've seen anywhere about exactly what kids and teachers go through with this: //www.city-data.com/forum/educa...lly-works.html)

Threre are tons of blogs and stories about CC on the national and even state levels, but further granularity will be harder to find short of in-person discussions with other parents, teachers, and the like. But your child is only three. You have time to investigate, and more importantly, the kid will grow up with CC rather than having to switch horses in the middle of the stream, so to speak, like kids already in school have to do. That will make a big difference.