California Common Core Standards
In 2009, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) committed to developing a set of standards that would help prepare students for success in career and college. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a voluntary, state-led effort coordinated by the CCSSO and NGA to establish clear and consistent education standards.
The Common Core State Standards exist for English-language arts and mathematics, kindergarten through grade twelve. They are founded upon the best state standards; the experiences of teachers, content experts, and leading thinkers;and feedback from the general public. In addition, the standards are internationally benchmarked to the top performing nations to ensure that our students are globally competitive. Parents, educators, content experts, researchers, national organizations, and community groups from forty-eight states, two territories, and the District of Columbia all participated in the development of the standards. The Common Core State Standards are rigorous, research-based, and relevant to the future success of our students. On August 2, 2010, the SBE voted unanimously to adopt the Common Core State Standards. More information about the standards may be found on the CDE’s Common Core State Standards Resources Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc
In California, we have a slightly altered set of standards,known as the California Common Core Standards (CCCS), to guide our educational programs and practices (California added to the Common Core State Standards for clarification purposes). The CCCS provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy (http://www.corestandards.org). Building on the excellent foundation of standards that California has laid, the CCCS 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.