It’s the end of the test as we know it, you might say, in California public schools. Last month I was made aware that my school district and state was retiring the old STAR test we have had for at least 15 years and replacing it with a test centered on something called the Common Core. It’s taken me until this past weekend to have a look at what exactly that is and what it means to me as a teacher. Just like with any new system in education, it will probably take me some time to fully comprehend what it is. I intend to post everything I learn here on this blog and I invite you to share what you learn here as well. I first heard that 26 states were on board with Common Core but looking at the site I can see it has grown much larger than that. It has two components that I give my 100% approval and encouragement to. Let me share them with you:

1. Aligning web identifiers and xml representation for enhanced search and collaboration.
2. Seeking to prepare students for college AND work.

On the face of it so far, the common core seems like a dream come true compared to what we’ve had to work with up to now. As I find out more about it, I will share if that bears out. The xml representation is ideal for me as a blogger and one who uses the internet to gather lesson plan ideas. When I read about it on their website, I felt like I was part of a brave new world:

As 45 states, the District of Columbia, and two territories move from widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards to implementation, there is a need to appropriately identify and link assets using a shared system of identifiers and a common XML representation. There have been several prior efforts at this. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), working closely with the standards authors, aim to put forward a viable approach for

publishing identifiers and XML designation

to represent the standards, consistent with their adopted format, as outlined below. (from: http://www.corestandards.org/developments-on-common-core-state-standards-identifier-and-xml-representation )

As for the college and work preparation, what a great thought. As my wife says, “We’ll see how well it is geared toward the workplace.” I agree we should be a little wary before we jump in head first. Still, as I looked around the site I saw a collaborative model and product that very well could revolutionize the way we teach, develop, and assess our students in public school.