ABSTRACT
With the creation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), a new era in mathematics education began for those states that adopted them. States that have adopted the CCSSM now have a common goal in mathematics education.
Building on the excellent foundation of standards states have laid, the Common Core State Standards are the first step in providing our young people with a high-quality education. It should be clear to every student, parent, and teacher what the standards of success are in every school.
(Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012a) How clear is it “what the standards of success are”? The standards were written “to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce” (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2012a). In its Myths vs Facts section, the CORE Standards website (www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/myths-vs-facts) states that the standards “are not a curriculum. They are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed.” What are the implications for the classroom teacher, whether teaching kindergarten or high-school algebra? Teachers need to become fluent in the content not only to teach their grade and course, but also to reinforce the prior content knowledge of their students and understand how the current content supports where the students are going. Only through studying these progressions will teachers truly be able to connect the mathematics they are teaching to what their students have previously learned and to what will be expected of them in upcoming grades.