English Language Arts and Literacy Common Core Purposes

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - August 29th, 2014

Lately we’ve been hearing a lot about English Language Arts and math Common Core Standards. These are the super-tough state standards that are rolling out in schools across the country this fall. Today’s students are faced with more standardized testing than every before. Every month, it seems, another standardized test is announced. As a result, parents and students often feel as if they’re constantly in test-prep mode, trying to attain the highest possible scores.

An increasing number of parents and students are wondering what, if any, is the purpose of this seemingly endless testing. The English Language Arts and Literacy Common Core tests, also called the ELA Common Core or the State Standards Initiative, is a relatively new standardized test, making it a target for much of this confusion.

In reality, there is a very good reason for the development and implementation of the English Language Arts and Literacy Common Core battery.

Need for Properly Educated Graduates

For many years, experts have realized that far too many students are ‘slipping through the cracks’ and arriving at their graduation ceremonies without the basic skills necessary for life in either higher education or the workforce. This article expands on this particular opinion.

An alarming number of seniors, when tested, scored far below what is considered average for their age and grade. Perhaps more disturbing, the skills they tested low on are some of the most basic, skills that we tend to assume are simply absorbed throughout a twelve year grade school education. These include English and math. In several studies, students were unable to perform even very simple math processes (such as subtraction and simple division) without the assistance of a calculator. In similar studies, students had extreme difficulties producing a grammatically correct resume, drastically reducing their chances of future employment.

The English Language Arts and Literacy Common Core battery, administered at each grade level beginning with pre-kindergarten, aims to end this trend. By testing children at each step throughout grade advancement, any below-average knowledge or skill sets can be identified and remedied before the child is advanced, ensuring that each child is receiving the same agreed-upon education. This will not only help reduce the number of high school children in remedial classes, but it also help ensure a higher quality of high school graduate.