By KATIE JUSTICE
Parents and students throughout Georgia may notice a slight change in the curriculum beginning this fall.
Georgia, along with 47 other states, developed a set of core standards for K-12 students in English language arts and mathematics. The purpose of these standards is to establish a uniform curriculum across the country that would better prepare students for life after high school.
The effort to move to Common Core State Performance Standards was state-led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers with the assistance of Achieve, ACT and the College Board. They were adopted by the Georgia State Board of Education in July 2010, and Georgia educators have been training on the standards since March of 2011.
The Common Core Georgia Performance Standards, or CCGPS, are being implemented in classrooms this fall, however, parents and students should not expect a big change in curriculum.
?In Georgia for the past several years, we?ve had Georgia Performance Standards which are similar to Common Core so it?s not as big as a change as in some states that haven?t had standards in place,? said Matt Cardoza, director of communications for the Georgia Department of Education.
Georgia Performance Standards came into use in 2004 and were established to provide clear expectations for assessment, instruction and student work.
Cardoza said that some learning standards have shifted from one grade level to another, but the most noticeable change is there will be more indepth focus into topics. Students will be required to do more critical thinking and analysis.
Some examples of changes in curriculum will be the Pythagorean Theorem being taught in eighth grade instead of ninth, and fourth graders now learning to add and subtract fractions, which was previously taught in fifth grade.
Parents and students expect changes in the rigorousness of the curriculum, according to Jackson County School System officials. April Howard is the Director of Elementary Support and Rise Hawley is the Director of Secondary Support.
In English language arts, the common core standards are broken down into the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening and language. In reading, the common core standards will focus on comprehension and ensuring students gain more from what they read. Students? writings will focus on several different types of writing including argumentative and informative pieces, narrative works and research projects. The area of speaking and listening will emphasize effective communication practices. Lastly, the focus of language will be in writing and speaking, as well as advancing students? vocabularies.
The other subject area of the CCGPS is mathematics which is broken down into conceptual development, fluency with core skills and meaningful learning.
Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will build their foundation of numbers and mathematical operations, which includes fractions and decimals.
Those in grades sixth through eighth will begin learning algebra, geometry, probabilities and statistics.
High school students will focus on the practical application of mathematics, such as is done by college students or those with a career.
?You have to look at skills necessary to be successful after high school. These are critical skills to being successful after high school, whether a student goes to college or gets a job,? said Cardoza.
Another change as part of CCGPS will be the phasing out of the High School Graduation Tests. Instead, students must pass all required courses and End of Course Tests (EOCTs) will count for 20 percent of a student?s final grade.
?We are excited about the phasing out of the GHSGT. Our students traditionally perform better on the EOCT which is an assessment that they take immediately upon completion of the course. In contrast, the GHSGT has been given in the junior year and is cumulative in that it covers content students have studied in grades 9-11,? said Chanda Palmer, Assistant Principal for Instruction at East Jackson Comprehensive High School..
Beginning next fall, incoming high school freshman will choose a career pathway. There will be 17 possible career pathways including Agriculture, Finance, Health Science and Public Safety.
?This will help them see more relevance between what they are learning in high school to what they will see in college or future career,? said Cardoza.
In addition to preparing students for life after high school, the Common Core State Standards will make it easier for students moving from one school to another, even if that move is across the country.
According to Cardoza, a student should be able to recognize the same learning standards no matter where they attend school, as long as they are within a state practicing the common core standards.
?It?s going to increase the rigor in class, and it?s going to increase what a student is able to produce. Focus on literacy is a good thing,? said Hawley.
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