Maryland Teachers Attend Common Core Seminar

Education Week (6/29, Cavanagh) reports on a gathering of Maryland teachers intended to get all educators up to speed on new "common standards" adopted by the state. The goal of the conference is "to make sense of those standards, figure out how to apply them in their classrooms, and bring those lessons back to their schools." Noting that 11 such conferences will be held in the state this year, Education Week adds that Maryland "was one of 11 states, plus the District of Columbia, to win an award through the Race to the Top competition, a $4.35 billion effort backed by the Obama administration with the aim of fostering academic improvements and school innovation. Along with more than 40 other states, Maryland, which won $250 million through the competition, agreed to adopt common academic standards in math and language arts, a decision that earned the state extra points in the competition."