Aligning WL Curriculum with Common Core

To ensure that what we teach is what students need to learn, we need to have standards.  The standards we can use are known as the Common Core standards, which were develped by the Common Core Advisory Committee, under executiv leadership from The College Board and other groups.  By testing whether our instructional materials and practics are aligned with the Common Core standards, we can help assure that students are being taught and tested accorfding to what they are generally expected to learn.  The Common Core standards apply across the board, in all academic areas.

As stated by the Colle Board, the Common Core has the following goal:
"...To establish a common set of rigorous expectations to prepare students for college and career readiness.   These standards for English Language Arts, Mathematics and Statistics, and Science were based on empirical research conducted by the University of Oregon’s Center for Educational Policy Research in collaboration with the Association of American Universities. The standards are benchmarked against the Advanced Placement Program® as well as national and international frameworks including NAEP, TIMSS and PISA (Wiley, Wyatt & Camara, 2010). These standards were an important resource in the development of the Common Core State Standards because they were based and benchmarked on empirical evidence related to college success."

But how do we test whether what we teach is in fact aligned with the Common Core?  That's where an educational consultant comes in.

An educational consultant can help a team analyze their own curriculum, how they actually teach day to day, and how they measure their own success.  The consultant can help assure that follow-up developments and testing continue to be in line with the rigorous goals set by the Common Core dvisory Committee.

Link to the full document published by the College Board on the Common Core foundations, goals, purposes, and means of measurement.