Common Core State Standards - Better Preparing Tennessee's Students for College and Career
Taking Note
MAY 2012
EXAMINING KEY EDUCATION REFORM IDEAS IN TENNESSEE
Common Core State Standards:
Better Preparing Tennessee’s Students for College and Career
Over recent years, Tennessee has committed to implementing more
rigorous academic standards to better prepare graduates for success
as they pursue credentials and careers beyond high school. In 2007, a
U.S. Chamber of Commerce report highlighted the need for more rigor in
Tennessee’s curriculum when it assigned the state’s standards an “F” for
their ability to equip graduates with the skills and knowledge they need to
compete in the modern workforce. Recognizing the need to set higher
expectations for education in Tennessee, then-Governor Phil Bredesen
subsequently announced the Tennessee Diploma Project (TDP), an affiliate
of the American Diploma Project aimed at raising the state’s standards
to better prepare students for success after high school. Tennessee
also expanded the number of credits required for graduation from 20 to
22, including Algebra I as an entry level course and three math courses
beyond Algebra I. This requirement places Tennessee’s math course
requirements among the highest in the country. In addition, the state now
requires three lab science credits that include either chemistry or physics.
Test results from the 2009-10 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment
Program (TCAP) indicated just how far the state’s students were behind
their peers nationally. Although 91 percent of elementary and middle
school students had been deemed proficient on the reading TCAP
in 2009, only 51 percent met that standard in 2010 under the new,
more rigorous standards. Less than 35 percent achieved proficiency
in math, after 90 percent scored proficient or above in 2009. The
increased rigor of standards in Tennessee demonstrated the need
to continue expecting more from Tennessee’s students, teachers,
and schools. Prior to adoption of TDP, Tennessee’s standards did
not prepare students for life and work after high school to the level of
their peers in other states. Now, as an adopter of the Common Core,
Tennessee has moved to integrate more rigorous standards, and by
sharing assessments with other Common Core states, Tennesseans
will be able to have a more accurate understanding both of how well
students in the state are learning and how to enhance achievement in
the areas where students need the most support. Shared assessments
will provide indicators of how well students in Tennessee are mastering
course content in comparison with their peers from other states. These
comparison points will be critical in making instructional and resource
allocation decisions, but they will also enable educators across state
lines to share strategies for improving student learning.
As the second phase of the state’s commitment to ensuring that high
school graduates are prepared for college and career, Tennessee
is now one of 46 statesi adopting more rigorous, internationallybenchmarked common standards in both English/Language Arts (ELA)
and mathematics.
What are Common Core Standards?
The Common Core State Standards are the result of a state-led initiative
to provide a set of rigorous learning standards in English/Language
Arts and mathematics. Previously, each state has developed its own
learning standards, leading to 50 different indicators of student learning.
Expectations of colleges and employers, however, do not depend on
the state, or even the country, from which a student graduated high
school. In order to improve teaching and learning, Common Core
standards are: ii
•
Focused, coherent, clear, and rigorous
•
Internationally benchmarked
•
Anchored in college and career readiness
•
Evidence- and research-based
Regular assessments will be designed to provide teachers with
indicators of student learning growth over the course of each academic
year, enabling them to address areas of greatest need without waiting
for end of year exam results. In addition, the standards and associated
common assessments will enable educators in adopting states across
the country to share effective practices and instructional approaches—
collaboration that has never been possible when each state designed
standards and assessments independently. The Council of Chief
State School Officers and National Governors Association Center for
Best Practices led a collaborative effort among the states to develop
common standards. The federal government played no role in
developing Common Core standards, but federal grant funding now
supports the development of assessments by two consortia of states
that have adopted the standards. States with common assessments
can identify areas for collaboration that include: iii
•
Making expectations for students clear to parents,
teachers, and the general public
•
Encouraging the development of textbooks, digital media,
and other teaching materials aligned to the standards
•
Developing and implementing comprehensive assessment
systems to measure student performance against the
Common Core State Standards that will replace the
existing testing systems
•
Evaluating policy changes needed to help students and
educators meet the standards
1207 18th Avenue South, Suite 326, Nashville, TN 37212 — tel 615.727.1545 — fax 615.727.1569 — www.tnscore.org