Giving Compass' Take:

• Thomas B. Fordham Institute released a report regarding Common Core reading standards and questions whether or not teachers are executing these strategies successfully. However, some teachers are hopeful because they believe the criteria is rigorous and effective in leading students to higher academic achievement. 

• Who can hold teachers accountable for implementation methods to ensure students are learning and reaching reading expectations? 

• Read more about how donors can advance education and the common core. 

A recent report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on the Common Core reading standards has challenged whether teachers are implementing the standards rigorously.

As a high school English teacher in Kentucky, I have taught under the Common Core for six years. I am confident that the standards aren’t a problem. If anything, they have made my instruction stronger and more rigorous.

While naysayers have been quick to point to the Fordham report as evidence of backsliding in education, I found several encouraging signs in the report that give me hope for the direction of education in our country. For instance, the report notes that teachers are using a variety of tools to gauge text complexity — something educators haven’t always focused on as heavily. Understanding text complexity helps us to better challenge students by gradually introducing more rigorous texts so students are able to access content above their reading level.

I’ve also seen teachers increasingly incorporate texts that are culturally relevant and appeal to students’ everyday life experiences, in addition to teaching the classical texts. In my own classroom, my students read Macbeth and Of Mice and Men, along with The Hate U Give, all while analyzing common themes in literature.

Regardless of the type of text or reading level, all our instruction should continue to move our students toward greater levels of proficiency. I see the study’s findings as clear evidence of the need for effective, teacher-led professional development. It’s important that districts continue to prioritize providing teachers with the professional development we need to better support all learners as we hold them, and ourselves, to higher standards.

Read the full article about common core curriculum by Kari Patrick at The 74