Common Core Requirements By State

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - November 4th, 2014

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, created by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA), is aimed at ensuring that each graduating high school student has the knowledge and skills necessary for thriving in the world after graduation. In addition, the yearly tests help to ensure that each child is progressing at an acceptable rate, hopefully avoiding the phenomenon of children ‘falling through the cracks’ and being progressed or advanced without actually learning the required curriculum in an adequate manner.

Although the Initiative is intended to create a country-wide set of agreed-upon standards, each state is free to adopt, modify or add to the required set of subjects and skills.

State by State Breakdown

Basing your test preparation on the standards for a state other than your own can prove to be disastrous for your child. It’s important to know the specific requirements for your home state, in order to help your child prepare and practice more efficiently. At http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Core_State_Standards_Initiative, you can find a state by state breakdown of precisely which states have adopted the Initiative standards and which have not, as well as which states have adopted some but not all of the standards.

Common Core requirements by state may vary for several reasons. In some states, a particular subject field is not under as much scrutiny or concern as in others. For example, a state with routinely high testing scores in math may choose to adopt the History, English and Science standards but reject those dealing with math. The main goal is to improve student performance and preparedness upon graduation, and so it only makes sense to focus more on areas which need improvement.

Once you’ve determined which standards have been adopted by your state, you can either speak with your child’s teacher or school authorities regarding study materials, or visit the Initiative’s main website in order to create home-study materials for your child.