Potential Impact Of Common Core Explored

The Christian Science Monitor (5/15, Paulson) reports that the implementation of the Common Core Standards in 45 states is one of the most sweeping education reforms currently underway, and has "the potential to drastically change curriculum in elementary, middle, and high schools around the country." The article notes that supporters say the standards are "the most promising education reform in decades," while skeptics call it "yet another reform that's being pushed through too quickly, paired with too many high-stakes consequences, and it will further drive teachers from the classroom and discourage kids." The Monitor suggests that the truth of the standards' impact will come over the next few years as wide-scale implementation takes place. The article describes the origins of the standards, and delves into the "fair amount of backlash" that they're generating.

New Assessments Face Comparisons With Old.In a separate analysis, the Christian Science Monitor (5/15, Paulson) explores the assessments that are being created to accompany the Common Core Standards, considering questions about whether they will be "any better than those states are using now?" Noting that the new assessments won't be in use until the 2014-15 school year, the Monitor says that many teachers hope that "the assessments will be much more thoughtful and informative than the current fill-in-the-bubble standardized tests."