Common Core with 8th-grade algebra on its way to State Board
Published: July 20, 2010
New academic standards in English-language arts and math are on their way to the California State Board of Education, which will vote to either accept or reject them on Aug. 2.
The 21-member Academic Content Standards Commission wrapped up its work of reviewing the Common Core State Standards late on July 15, the deadline for the commission to act. Commission members came to unanimous accord regarding the English-language arts standards, which had been supplemented with existing California standards in penmanship, oral presentation and other skills. The proposed new standards were developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative, an effort to persuade all 50 states to voluntarily adopt the same benchmarks for academics.
Work on the math standards bogged down while the commission debated how to accommodate California’s emphasis on Algebra I in eighth grade. In the end, the commission voted to move some algebra-readiness standards down into the sixth and seventh grades so most eighth-graders would be prepared to take a full Algebra I course.
Framers of the common core anticipated that, claiming that “the K-7 standards contain the prerequisites to prepare students for Algebra I by 8th grade, and the standards are designed to permit states to continue existing policies concerning Algebra I in 8th grade."
At the same time, the commission approved the common core’s eighth-grade standards—which focus on some key algebra and geometry concepts, though not comprehensively—as an alternative pathway for students not quite ready for Algebra I.
The State Board may approve or reject the whole package, according to state law, but it may not edit the standards the commission sends them.
California’s standards have been criticized for including so many concepts that many are glossed over, and because in practice every standard does not actually get taught to every student. CCSSI’s English and math standards encompass fewer concepts that are purportedly presented in a more logical fashion, and with greater depth, in alignment with the latest in educational research and the standards of leading global competitors such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore. The K-12 common core standards derive from—and thus build toward—the college and career readiness standards previously released by CCSSI.
California educators say they’ve learned a lot from their 13 years of experience with standards-based reform, so many feel it’s a good time to refresh the state’s standards, which have been said to be “mile-wide, inch-deep.”
“CSBA supports a revision to California standards if they are fewer in number and more focused and aligned across grade levels. I think the Core accomplishes these three things,” said Holly Jacobson, assistant executive director for policy analysis and leadership development.
Several states have adopted the common core standards by themselves without making enhancements to fit local priorities. The common core initiative allows for states to adopt the common core and add 15 percent of their own standards to the mix. Kathy Gaither, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s undersecretary of education, made it clear to the commission that the governor would not support adopting the standards unless they were enhanced to make them at least as tough as California’s current standards. But because the two blueprints approach the goal of college and career readiness in different ways, the level of rigor can be difficult to quantify, Jacobson said.
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