A new report released by Education First suggests that states have made “significant progress” toward Common Core readiness.
Education First and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center have released Moving Forward: A National Perspective on States’ Progress in Common Core State Standards Implementation Planning. A sequel to last year’s Preparing for Change report, this new report provides another 50-state snapshot of state plans to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and suggests that states have made significant progress since 2011.
A few highlights:
- All 47 CCSS-adopting states reported having a formal implementation plan fortransitioning to the new standards.
- Most CCSS-adopting states reported progress in planning since 2011.
- As was the case in 2011, states are furthest along in their planning related to aligning teacher professional development to the CCSS.
- Since 2011, states have advanced their planning to align instructional materials with the CCSS.
- Most states have plans in place or in progress for aligning their teacher-evaluation systems to the CCSS.
There are a few signs of a lack of progress in some areas, however:
- Six states indicated that they are further away from the goal of completing fully developed plans for a particular implementation area in 2012 than they reported a year earlier.
- As of summer 2012, five states did not have a plan underway to align instructional materials with the CCSS.
The conclusion to the report remains positive, despite some of the weaknesses mentioned:
Though the ultimate impact of the transition to the Common Core State Standards remains to be seen, the survey results presented in this report suggest that most states are further along in planning for this change than they were a year ago. Since effective planning by state leaders will help educators navigate the shifting educational landscape and better prepare our nation’s students to meet new academic expectations, this is welcome news.
Access the report here: http://www.education-first.com/files/MovingForward_EF_EPE_020413_final.pdf
