-
The Iowa Core is
a set of goals -- academic standards that set high expectations and provide a
clear understanding of what students should know and be able to do in math,
science, English language arts and social studies. The standards include
learning goals for 21st century skills in areas such as financial
and technology literacy.
-
The Iowa Core
sets appropriate expectations for all students -- regardless of where they live
-- that reflect the real-world knowledge and skills they will need to graduate
from high school prepared for college or to enter the workforce.
-
The Iowa Core emphasizes
complex skills rather than basic skills. The standards promote learning based
on problem-solving, creativity, and critical-thinking rather than memorization
of isolated facts.
-
The standards
establish what students need to learn, but not how teachers should teach. The
Iowa Core is a set of expectations, not a curriculum, so decisions about how to
help students reach the standards remain in the hands of local schools and
teachers.
-
With students,
parents and teachers all on the same page and working together toward shared
goals, we can ensure that students make progress each year and graduate prepared
to build a strong future for themselves and for Iowa.
-
This school year
is the first in which all grades (K-12) will fully implement the Iowa Core.
Additional
Information
How do the Iowa Core and the Common Core overlap?
-
Iowa lawmakers
approved the Iowa Core as a state requirement in 2008. State legislators and
education leaders led this shift away from locally determined standards, which
had caused inconsistent expectations in schools across the state. Iowa
educators identified and wrote the essential concepts and skills that make up
the Iowa Core.
-
As Iowa worked
to develop and implement the Iowa Core, a consortium of states came together to
develop common standards for English language arts and math. This was in
response to concerns across the country that many students were graduating from
high school unprepared for the demands of college and careers.
-
The Common Core
standards were developed by this coalition of states led by governors and state
school chiefs. Forty-eight states took part, drawing on the expertise of
content specialists, teachers, school administrators and parents. The process
was open for public comment, and more than 10,000 comments were received.
-
The Common Core
standards incorporate the best and highest of previous state standards in the
U.S. and are internationally bench-marked to the top-performing nations around
the world. Most states have voluntarily adopted the Common Core.
How was the Common Core adopted in Iowa?
-
Iowa, through
authority vested in the State Board of Education by the Iowa Legislature,
adopted the Common Core State Standards in a public process in 2010 and blended
them with our state standards. This was an easy decision because:
o
The two were
very comparable in English language arts and math; a study showed 97 percent
alignment.
o
Consistent
standards allow teachers from across the country to share information and
resources and give students a more seamless educational experience from state
to state.
Doesn’t the Common Core represent an overreach by the
federal government?
-
No. The Common
Core was developed by a coalition of states, not the federal government, and
Iowa is not receiving federal money to implement the Common Core as part of the
Iowa Core.
Where does it stand today?
-
Iowa Core implementation is a multi-year
process led locally by schools and school districts with assistance from the
Iowa Department of Education and Area Education Agencies.
-
With professional development, schools
continue to address how the standards fit with academic content, teaching, and
local assessments well into the 2014-15 school year.
-
The Iowa Core is
not perfect. We want to continually improve the standards and look to Iowa
education stakeholders to help us make the Iowa Core the right fit for Iowa.
-
Iowans will continue
to have input into improving our state standards. One way is through an
executive order from Gov. Branstad that requires an ongoing review process. The
Iowa Department of Education is determining the process for review, which will
begin this fall.
Key
Features
English/Language Arts
·
Build knowledge
through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts plus literature.
·
Reading and
writing grounded in evidence from the text.
·
Regular practice
with complex text and its academic vocabulary.
Example:
English Language Arts –
Reading: Literature – Grade 8
-
Craft and Structure
· Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific
word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other
texts.
· Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how
the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
· Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the
audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create
such effects as suspense or humor.
Mathematics
·
Focus: 2-3
topics focused on deeply in each grade.
·
Coherence:
Concepts logically connected from one grade to the next and linked to other
major topics within the grade.
·
Rigor: Application
of knowledge to real-world situations, and deep understanding of mathematical
concepts.
Example:
Mathematics – Grade 3 –
Measurement & Data
-
Solve Problems Involving
Measurement and Estimation of Intervals of Time, Liquid Volumes, and Masses of
Objects.
· Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in
minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time
intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line
diagram.
· Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard
units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (I).[1] Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve
one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same
units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to
represent the problem.[2]
No comments:
Post a Comment