Common Core: Separating Fact from Fiction

Published April 4, 2013

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators and experts to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare students for college and the workforce.

There has been some misinformation regarding the Common Core circulating through the community, so the district has gathered information to keep WCS families informed.

Myth #1: The Common Core is a curriculum.

Fact: The Common Core State Standards are a set of expectations for what students should know in each grade. They are not a curriculum. Our state and local school district will continue to develop their own curriculum and select textbooks.

Myth #2: The Common Core is a “federal mandate.”

Fact: Tennessee chose to adopt these higher standards in 2010 because our state’s policymakers, legislators, business leaders and other leaders were concerned about the preparedness of Tennessee’s students for the workforce. In today’s economy, competition for jobs comes not just from across town but from across the country. We had to do better.

Myth #3: The Common Core is a “dumbing down” of Tennessee’s standards.

Fact: The Common Core State Standards are actually much more rigorous than Tennessee’s current standards. Because of this, it is expected that Tennessee’s students will, at least at first, have lower test scores since the bar is being raised in the classroom.

Myth #4: The Common Core is a “threat to academic freedom.”

Fact: The Common Core actually provides teachers with more freedom, rather than less. In Tennessee there are fewer standards with Common Core than with the state’s old set of standards.

For an in-depth look at Common Core, visit the State Department of Education website http://www.tn.gov/education/doc/Common_Core_Facts_History.pdf